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^0^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^^ 


Purchased  by  the   Hamill   Missionary  Fund. 


BV  3625  .M25  E42 

Elmslie,  Walter  Angus, 

1856 

1935. 

Among  the  wild  Ngoni 

AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

BEING  SOME  CHAPTERS  IN  THE  HISTORY 

OF  THE  LIVINGSTONIA  MISSION  IN 

BRITISH  CENTRAL  AFRICA 


W.    A.    ELMSLIE 

M.B.,  CM.,  F.B.G.S. 

Medical  Missionary 
WITH   INTRODUCTION   BY 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  LORD  OVERTOUN 


FLEMING   H.    REVELL    COMPANY 
NEW  YORK     CHICAGO     TORONTO 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 

1899 


MY  WIFE 

A  TRUE  QELPMEET  IN  ALL  MY  WORK 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction          .....  5 

CHAP. 

I.  Political  History  of  the  Ngoni  .            .  13 

II.  The  Country  and  the  People       .             .  31 

III.  Native  Customs  and  Beliefs          .             .  51 

IV.  The  State  of  the  Country  and  the  Begin- 

ning OF  the  Mission  Work       .             .  76 

V.  My  First  Visit  to  Mombera          .             .  105 

VI.  Meeting  with  the  Head-men         .             .  119 

VII.  Mission  Life  and  Work  in  the  Early  Days  138 

VIII.  The  Rain  Question  .  .  .158 

IX.  In  Memoriam  :  William  Koyi        .             .  189 

X.  In  Memoriam  :  James  Sutherland              .  209 

XI.  The  Crisis  :  War,  or  the  Gospel              .  222 

XII.  In  Memoriam  :  Dr  Steele               .             .  253 

XIII.  Rearrangement  of  Stations  and  Growth 

OF  THE  Work      .            .            .            .  283 


ILLUSTKATIONS 


Portrait  of  Dr  and  Mrs  Elmslie 


Frontispiece 


Ngoni  Warriors    .... 

LUNYANGWA    RiVER,    EkWENDENI 

A  Village  Audience 

PoKA  Huts  on  Hillsides  . 

Sub-Chief  and  Body-guard 

Ngoni  Headmen,  Ekwbndeni 

A  Village  School 

A  Village  School  op  Adults  and  Children  and 
HoRA  Station  Scholars 

Nqoniland  Staff  at  Njutu  and  Hora  Mountain 

Mr  Sutherland,  Artisan  Missionary 

Dr  Steele  .... 

Dr  Steele's  Grave  at  Ekwendbni 

Mr  Stuart  and  Nqoniland  Teachers 

Map  ..... 


PAGE 

22 
28 
U 
80 
96 
120 
144 

170 
194 
209 
253 
280 
299 
At  end 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  eyes  of  the  world  are  on  Africa,  and  the  nations  of 
the  West  are  eagerly  engaged  in  exploring  and  an- 
nexing land  without  asking  the  consent  of  the  inhabitants. 
Till  far  on  in  the  century  only  the  fringes  of  Africa  were 
known,  the  districts  round  the  Cape  up  to  Natal  were 
early    colonised,    while    the   West    Coast    was    specially 
known  as  the  "White  Man's  Grave."     The  north,  once 
the  abode  of  pirates,  fell  chiefly  under  French  influence, 
and  the  wondrous  land  of  Egypt,  stretching  into  the  dim 
past,  has  been  the  battlefield  of  hosts  contending  for  its 
possession.     While  the  East  Coast  has  languished  under 
Portuguese  misrule  and  neglect,  Egypt  and  the  southern 
regions  have  steadily  advanced  under  British  possession 
and  influence. 

The  southern  portion  of  what  has  long  been  known  as 
the  Dark  Continent  has  been  to  a  great  extent  civilised, 
and  while  elements  have  not  been  wanting  to  degrade  the 
native  races,  much  has  been  done  to  spread  the  Gospel  and 
the  arts  of  peace.  But  during  all  these  years  the  interior 
of  Africa  was  an  unknown  land,  sometimes  marked  in  maps 
as  "  Desert,"  but  believed  to  be  the  abode  of  horrid  cruelty. 
Explorers  from  Bruce  to  Speke,  Thomson  and  Grant, 
sought  to  penetrate  its  secrets,  but  the  malarial  climate, 
the  fever  swamps  and  tangled  forests,  not  to  speak  of  wild 
beasts  and  savage  men,  barred  the  way. 

It  was  David  Livingstone,  a  self-educated  Scottish  weaver, 
who,  inspired  with  the  passion  to  discover  the  secret  sources 
of  the  Nile,  and  the  mysteries  of  Central  Africa,  was  raised 
up  by  God  to  carry  the  Gospel  message  to  those  who,  for 
centuries,  had  sat  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  recite  how,  time  after  time, 

7 


8  INTRODUCTION 

he  plunged  alone  into  the  dark  land,  and  with  a  gentleness 
which  won  his  way,  and  a  dauntless  and  persevering  daring 
which  carried  him  through  many  perils,  brought  to  light 
the  secrets  of  centuries,  and  blazed  a  path  for  civilisation 
and  the  Gospel. 

But  his  heart  was  wrung  with  the  horrors  of  the  dread- 
ful slave  trade  which  had  decimated  Africa  for  ages,  and 
caused  the  groans  and  sighs  of  her  sons  and  daughters  to 
ascend  to  heaven. 

On  a  May  day  in  1873,  worn  out  by  fatigue  and  cruel 
fever,  he  was  found  dead  by  his  faithful  native  boys, 
kneeling  as  in  prayer  at  the  side  of  the  rude  bed  in  his 
hut,  amid  the  swamps  of  Lake  Bangweolo. 

Among  his  last  written  words  were,  "  May  Heaven's 
rich  blessing  come  down  on  every  one — American,  English, 
Turk — who  will  help  to  heal  this  open  sore  of  the  world." 

Carried  by  loving  hands  over  a  nine  months'  march, 
his  body  was  laid  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  April  1874, 
and  the  story  of  his  life  and  death  sent  a  thrill  through 
Christendom,  and  purposes  were  formed  for  the  sending 
of  the  Gospel  to  Central  Africa. 

Dr  James  Stewart  of  Lovedale  was  the  first  to  move, 
and  the  result  was  the  formation  of  the  Livingstonia 
Mission  by  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  the  Blantyre 
Mission  by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the  Universities'  Mis- 
sion by  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  and 
the  Tanganyika  Mission  by  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
while  later  Moravians,  Germans,  and  others  followed. 

The  sphere  chosen  by  the  Livingstonia  Mission  was  the 
west  shore  of  Lake  Nyasa,  an  inland  sea  some  400  miles 
long,  discovered  by  Livingstone  and  Dr  Stewart;  and  in 
1875  the  Ilala^  bearing  the  pioneers  of  the  Mission,  Dr 
Laws  and  his  helpers,  steamed  into  the  Lake  and  took 
possession  for  Christ. 

The  first  settlement  at  Cape  Maclear,  the  south  end  of 


INTRODUCTION  9 

the  Lake,  had  to  be  abandoned  because  of  its  unhealthy 
climate,  which  cost  the  lives  of  several  missionaries. 
Moving  to  Bandawe,  about  half  way  up  the  West  Coast 
of  Lake  Nyasa,  the  pioneers  settled  there,  surveyed  the 
land  around,  and  began  its  conquest  for  the  Gospel. 

The  story  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission  is  one  of  faithful 
and  persevering  work  in  the  face  of  untold  difficulties. 
Unknown  langl^ages  had  to  be  mastered  and  reduced  to 
writing.  Slavery  and  barbarism  faced  the  Missionaries  at 
every  point.  An  unknown  tropical  climate  tried  them  to 
the  uttermost.  When  one  fell  at  his  post  another  stepped 
into  the  breach.  Supported  by  prayer,  faith  and  patience, 
they  laboured  on  for  years,  till  at  last  the  seed  sown  in  tears 
took  root  and  sprang  up.  Now  the  labourers  are  filled  with 
praise  because  God  has  given  them  to  see  fields  white  to  the 
harvest. 

The  work  has  been  carried  on  all  these  years  by  men 
and  women,  whose  names  shine  as  heroes  in  the  Gospel 
story,  on  four  great  lines : — 

1.  The  direct  proclamation  of  the  Gospel. 

2.  Education  of  young  and  old. 

3.  Medical  Mission  work. 

4.  Industrial  training. 

These  have  all  been  carried  on  at  each  of  five  stations, 
which  all  have  many  out-stations.  In  recent  years  a  great 
central  Training  Institution  has  been  established  at  Kon- 
dowi,  to  which  the  best  pupils  are  drafted  to  be  trained  as 
evangelists,  teachers,  and  skilled  artisans.  There  are  now 
some  500  resident  and  day  students,  and  Dr  Laws,  who 
has  been  the  honoured  head  of  the  Mission  since  its  be- 
ginning, is  in  charge. 

The  Livingstonia  Mission  seeks  to  evangelise  a  field  of 
about  300  miles  long  by  100  miles  broad.  There  are  now 
7  native  churches  with  over  1000  members,  85  schools  with 
11,000  scholars,  and  300  native  teachers  and  preachers. 


lo  INTRODUCTION 

While  the  whole  field  is  full  of  the  deepest  interest,  and 
each  tribe  has  its  own  character,  traditions  and  peculiarities, 
one  of  the  tribes  is  dominant.  The  Ngoni,  of  whom  the 
following  pages  tell,  are  the  warriors  of  the  country,  of 
Zulu  race,  with  splendid  physique  and  qualities,  but  steeped 
for  centuries  in  superstition,  bloodshed,  and  cruelty.  The 
fascinating  story  told  by  Dr  Elmslie  of  the  rise  of  Chaka's 
kingdom,  of  the  seas  of  blood  shed  by  him  and  his  war- 
riors, accompanied  by  untold  cruelties,  and  all  for  lack  of 
the  Gospel  unsent  by  sleeping  Christendom,  should  stir  the 
hearts  of  many  to  send  the  message  of  peace  where  it  has 
not  yet  gone. 

Dr  Elmslie,  who  with  his  devoted  wife  has  just  sailed 
for  Africa  to  begin  his  third  term  of  service,  vividly 
pictures  the  lofty  plateau  of  Ngoniland,  with  its  native 
villages  and  the  dark  background  of  vice  and  cruelty 
which  lies  behind  the  village  life,  with  the  horrors  of  the 
slave  trade  which  harried  peaceful  homes,  leaving  the 
smoking  ruins,  while  the  inmates  were  massacred,  or  re- 
served for  a  more  cruel  fate,  and  how  their  perils  drove 
the  people  to  live  in  swamps  or  inaccessible  rocks. 

The  first  advance  of  the  missionaries  to  Ngoniland  was  in 
1878  in  the  face  of  much  personal  danger.  The  first  inter- 
views with  Mombera  and  his  bloodthirsty  chiefs,  picture  not 
only  the  danger  of  the  situation,  but  the  faith,  courage,  and 
tact  of  the  men  who,  taking  their  lives  in  their  hands,  went 
as  ambassadors  of  Christ  to  these  bloodstained  savages. 

They  were  worth  winning  for  Christ,  but  it  was  a  long 
story  of  alternating  hope  and  fear,  of  patience  and  trial. 
The  inquisitive  questions,  the  insatiable  and  insolent  greed 
shown  to  the  missionaries,  who  were  known  not  only  to  have 
brought "  The  Book,"  but  calico  and  beads,  were  most  trying. 

The  story  of  William  Koyi,  a  Kafir  Christian  trained  at 
Lovedale,  and  how,  with  Christian  tact  and  patience,  he 
disarmed  suspicion,  and  secured  for  himself  and  his  Euro- 


INTRODUCTION  ii 

peans  the  friendship  of  Mombera  and  his  people,  has  seldom 
been  equalled  in  the  missionary  field. 

To  preach  to  the  people  was  at  first  well-nigh  impossible, 
the  time  of  sowing  had  not  yet  come,  much  less  the  reap- 
ing; but  the  influence  of  his  humble  Christian  life  and 
example  in  the  face  of  danger  and  difficulty,  won  at  last 
the  respect  and  love  of  the  Ngoni  tribe.  Dr  Elmslie  touch- 
ingly  tells  how  William  Koyi,  the  faithful  worker,  heard 
on  his  dying  bed  that  full  permission  had  been  given  to 
teach  and  preach  the  Gospel,  and  with  "  nunc  dimittis  "  on 
his  lips  went  to  his  reward  in  1886. 

For  full  three  years  the  pioneers  laboured,  prayed,  and 
watched.  The  medical  aid  given  helped  them  to  win  their 
way  among  the  people,  who  wondered  why  they  remained 
when  no  one  would  receive  their  message. 

There  came  the  first  tiny  blade  when  three  youths  came 
like  Nicodemus  at  night  to  inquire,  but  these  first-fruits 
met  with  bitter  opposition,  and  Dr  Elmslie  and  his  faithful 
helpers  were  sorely  tried  by  dangers,  anxieties,  fever,  and 
disappointment.  Then  came  the  turning-point  when,  after 
a  long  drought,  rain  fell  in  response  to  the  white  men's 
prayers,  and  a  new  era  began. 

Mrs  Elmslie's  arrival  created  a  fresh  interest ;  work  was 
begun  among  the  girls,  as  had  been  done  by  Mrs  Laws  at 
Bandawe,  and  after  a  while,  on  the  people's  own  proposal, 
they  had  a  harvest  thanksgiving  to  God. 

Dr  Elmslie  tells  the  life-story  of  James  Sutherland  of 
Wick,  converted  in  connection  with  D.  L.  Moody's  mission 
there,  who  faithfully  laboured  with  the  Doctor  amid  dangers 
and  difficulties,  and  who,  before  his  death,  showed  such  en- 
thusiasm that  when,  in  consequence  of  murderous  threats, 
plans  were  made  for  the  missionaries  leaving,  Sutherland 
had  arranged  to  become  a  slave  to  one  of  the  Ngoni  in  order 
to  remain  as  a  witness  for  God  among  the  people. 

The  story  of  the  exorcising  of  spirits,  of  Dr  Laws'  visit. 


12  INTRODUCTION 

and  the  terrible  suspense  which  the  missionaries  passed 
through,  lead  up  to  the  first  baptism  in  1890.  Then  Dr  Steele 
began  his  too  brief  work,  which  for  five  years  brightened 
the  band  of  workers,  till  his  valued  life  was  laid  down. 

In  1892  the  first  Ngoni  woman  was  baptised ;  two  years 
later  Miss  Stewart  joined  the  workers,  and  that  year  760 
children  attended  school. 

Then  the  most  northern  station  was  opened  at  Mwenzo 
by  Mr  and  Mrs  Dewar  and  the  Training  Institution  was 
started  at  Kondowi,  above  Florence  Bay. 

While  Europeans  must  be  pioneers  (and  God  has  given 
the  Livingstonia  Mission  a  splendid  stafi),  the  evangelisa- 
tion of  Africa  must  be  done  by  Africa's  sons,  and  the  500 
students  in  training  at  the  Institution  who  will  soon  be 
the  craftsmen,  teachers,  evangelists,  and  pastors  of  British 
Central  Africa. 

The  Rev.  Donald  Fraser,  who  has  been  nearly  a  year 
in  Ngoniland,  has  had  the  joy  of  helping  the  earlier 
labourers  in  the  reaping  of  the  harvest  which  now  gladdens 
the  hearts  of  all.  At  Ekwendeni  he  joined  the  Eev.  James 
Henderson  and  others  in  a  great  Communion  service  when 
195  sat  at  the  Lord's  Table,  in  presence  of  4000  natives. 
In  two  days  198  adults  and  89  children  were  baptised. 

The  scenes  so  graphically  described  in  these  pages,  of 
warriors  who  once  marched  in  impis  to  bloodshed  and 
cruelty,  now  marching  in  hundreds  to  a  Gospel  gathering, 
witnessing  the  sacraments  of  the  Lord's  Supper  and 
Baptism  with  reverent  interest ;  of  the  night  air  vocal  with 
hymns  where  once  the  war-cry  was  heard;  of  peaceful  homes 
and  cultivated  land,  all  tell  of  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel  of 
God,  and  how,  through  the  labours  of  Dr  Laws,  Dr  Elmslie 
and  their  noble  band  as  well  as  those  who  have  gone  to 
their  rest,  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  is  glad  for 
them  and  the  desert  rejoices  and  blossoms  as  the  rose. 

OVERTOUN. 


I 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   HISTORY   OF   THE   NGONI 

N  order  to  understand  the  present  cliaracter  of 
^  the  Ngoni  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
dawn  of  the  present  century  and  to  South 
Africa,  the  cradle  of  these  people.  The  mighty 
movements  of  barbarous  fanatics  in  recent  tinaes, 
such  as  those  in  the  Soudan  and  elsewhere,  sink 
into  insignificance  when  compared  with  those 
that  give  rise  to  the  presence  of  the  Ngoni  in 
British  Central  Africa  and  in  German  East 
Africa,  not  to  speak  of  the  Matabele  who  gave 
so  much  trouble  to  the  British,  or  the  other 
branches  of  the  same  race  which  had  to  be 
proceeded  against  by  Portuguese  arms. 

In  a  district  somewhere  on,  or  near,  the  Tugela 
river,  which  now  forms  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  colony  of  Natal,  there  was  born,  as  the 
century  dawned,  a  child  with  a  reputed  miracu- 
lous origin  but  fathered  by  Senzangakona,  chief 
of  the  then  insignificant  Zulu  tribe.  His  mother, 
fearing  for  his  life,  fled  with  him  to  the  court 


14  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

of  a  neighbouring  and  more  powerful  chief, 
named  Dingiswayo,  ruling  the  Amatetwa.  Here 
he  was  received  and  cared  for  until  he  attained 
to  manhood.  Umnandi  {i.e.  the  pleasant  one) 
the  mother  of  Chaka,  as  the  child  was  named, 
remained  with  him.  Dingiswayo  was  at  that 
time  the  most  powerful  chief  in  the  district 
stretching  from  Natal  to  Delagoa  Bay.  He 
had,  in  the  early  part  of  his  life,  been  compelled 
to  flee  into  what  is  now  part  of  Cape  Colony, 
and  while  exiled  is  supposed  to  have  come  into 
some  knowledge  of  carrying  on  war  by  organised 
regiments  and  companies. 

Thus  through  Europeans  came  the  impulse 
which,  as  we  shall  see,  was  destined  to  have 
such  awful  results  in  the  life  and  history  of  in- 
dividuals and  tribes  over  nearly  half  the  length 
of  Africa.  On  gaining  the  chieftainship  of  his 
tribe  Dingiswayo  organised  his  army  in  regiments, 
and  otherwise  improved  its  means  of  carrying 
desolation  over  a  wide  area.  Chaka,  during  his 
stay  with  Dingiswayo,  had  no  doubt  ample  oppor- 
tunity for  studying  the  art  of  war  and  seems  to 
have  done  so  successfully.  He  even  improved  on 
Dingiswayo's  methods,  and  was  not  satisfied  that 
conquered  tribes  should  be  so  generously  treated 
as  they  were  by  being  incorporated  as  vassals 
of  the  paramount  chief     Chaka  saw  in  this  a 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  NGONI  15 

source  of  insecurity  and  formed  the  idea  of  so 
disorganising  or  crushing  them  that  they  would 
be  incapable  of  rising  against  the  chief.  No 
doubt  it  was  his  education  in  war  and  bloodshed 
that  bore  its  fruits  when,  as  a  young  man,  he 
ascended  the  throne  of  his  father  by  causing  the 
death  of  his  brother,  to  supplant  whom  he  had 
returned  to  the  Zulu  tribe  against  the  wish  of 
Dingiswayo.  As  Dingiswayo  had  opposed  his 
pretensions  to  rule  he  had  him  "  removed  "  soon 
after. 

With  this  Chaka  our  history  of  the  Ngoni 
begins.  His  brief  reign  of  seven  or  eight  years 
was  a  period  in  which  more  blood  was  shed,  and 
greater  upheaval  among  native  tribes  induced, 
than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world.  As  a 
writer  says,  "War  poisoned  all  enjoyment,  cut 
off  all  that  sustains  life,  turned  thousands  of 
square  miles  into  literally  a  howling  wilderness, 
shed  rivers  of  blood,  annihilated  whole  com- 
munities, turned  the  members  of  others  into 
cannibals,  and  caused  miseries  and  sufferings,  the 
full  extent  of  which  can  never  now  be  known, 
and  which,  if  ever  known,  could  not  be  told." 
These  words  were  written  on  the  death  of  Chaka 
in  1828,  and  although  it  is  estimated  that  over  a 
million  human  beings  owed  their  death  either 
directly  or  indirectly   to    Chaka,   it  is  not  im- 


1 6  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

probable  that  over  the  region  which  the  wave  of 
war  and  bloodshed  travelled,  even  more  than 
that  number  were  slain  in  battle,  massacred  in 
their  villages,  or  driven  into  the  wilds  to  die 
of  starvation. 

The  last  of  the  chiefs  to  be  conquered  by 
Chaka  was  Zwide,  under  whom  Zongandaba  and 
other  chiefs  (formerly  independent)  ruled  over 
districts  and  acted  as  commanders  of  divisions 
of  his  army.  In  a  great  battle  with  Zwide  and 
all  his  chiefs  Chaka  was  victorious,  as  the  proud 
Ngoni  are  careful  to  state,  through  the  deception 
of  a  man  named  Noluju,  who  was  a  political 
prisoner  with  Zwide  and  who  desired  to  '*pay 
out "  Zwide  for  some  wrong  done  him.  This 
Noluju  went  to  Chaka  and  arranged  that,  on  the 
attack  being  made,  he  would  mislead  the  army 
of  Zwide.  Arranging  that  Chaka's  army  should 
camp  by  some  favourable  watering-place,  he 
guided  Zwide's  force  to  a  barren  place  and  left 
it  there,  under  pretence  of  going  to  spy  out 
Chaka's  position.  When  they  were  faint  from 
thirst  he  guided  them  to  where  the  water  was, 
but  Chaka  attacked  them,  killing  many  and 
putting  the  rest  to  flight.  The  difierent  chiefs 
who  had  thus  been  united  under  Zwide  again 
sought  independence  by  leaving  the  country, 
and  the  Ngoni  who  are  now  in  British  Central 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  NGONI  17 

Africa  then  began  their  wanderings,  every  step 
of  which  is  marked  by  blood  as  we  shall  see. 
Of  Noluju  it  is  related  that,  having  returned 
home  to  get  his  wives,  he  set  out  for  another 
place  in  which  to  live.  Lying  at  night  in  his 
booth  in  the  forest  and  evidently  congratulating 
himself  on  having  paid  out  Zwide  for  his  treat- 
ment of  him,  he  put  his  thoughts  in  song,  native- 
wise,  and  sang,  "  He  forgets  who  did  the  wrong, 
but  he  forgets  not  who  was  wronged."  Zwide's 
spies,  sent  to  chase  him,  heard  the  song  and  fell 
on  him  and  killed  them  all.  The  life  and  fate  of 
this  unit  illustrates  the  life  and  fate  of  many 
tribes.  Noluju's  song  was  a  paean  and  a 
prophecy,  and  he  himself  the  subject. 

Although  the  Ngoni  lived  under  Zwide  they 
were  not  in  entire  subjection  to  him,^  and  on 
occasion,  as  their  own  tributaries  have  done  since, 
they  rose  in  rebellion.  As  illustrating  how,  even 
in  those  dark  days,  right  principle  was  not  with- 
out a  witness,  and  was  found  in  the  heart  of  a 
woman,  and  how  the  superstitions  of  the  people 
enter  into  and  influence  every  act  of  their  life, 
the  following  native  narrative  may  be  given. 

Zwide,  who  had  attacked  Zongandaba,  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  on  being  released  after  some 
months  was  sent  home  under  escort  with  a  gift 
of  many  cattle.     His  pride  was  wounded  by  this 

B 


iS  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

insult  from  one  of  his  vassals,  and  he  determined 
on  revenge.  His  mother  opposed  it,  but  to  her 
he  would  not  give  heed.  She  devised  a  plan 
to  strike  fear  into  the  hearts  of  the  soldiers.  In 
the  words  of  a  native,  it  is  stated  that  "  his 
mother  reasoned  with  him,  saying,  '  My  child, 
shall  the  Ngoni  perish  ?  Did  they  not  send  you 
back,  giving  you  many  fat  cattle  with  you  1  Is 
it  right  to  go  out  to  war  against  them  ? '  But 
Zwide  gave  no  heed  to  his  mother's  words,  and 
called  together  his  soldiers.  On  the  day  when 
they  were  being  reviewed,  the  mother  of  Zwide, 
having  planned  to  make  the  soldiers  afraid,  went 
into  the  cattle-fold  (it  was  not  permissible  for 
women  to  do  so)  where  the  soldiers  were. 
Standing  in  their  midst  she  unloosed  her  skirt 
and  stood  exposed  among  them.  The  soldiers 
seeing  her  thus  wondered  greatly,  and  Zwide 
also  wondered.  The  soldiers  declared  that  it 
was  an  omen,  that  perhaps  an  ancestral  spirit 
had  prompted  her  to  do  thus,  and  they,  being 
afraid  to  go  out,  were  disbanded  forthwith.  So 
Lowawa,  Zwide's  mother,  prevailed." 

On  the  breaking  up  of  Zwide's  combined  force, 
Zongandaba  and  other  petty  chiefs  led  off  sections 
of  the  tribe  in  quest  of  new  lands,  as  they  could 
not  retain  their  old  country  against  the  growing 
power  of  Chaka.     They  had  been  conquered,  but 


THE  HISTORT  OF  THE  NGONJ  19 

they  liad  evidently  been  impressed  by  Chaka's 
methods,  and  resolved  to  follow  them.  No  doubt 
also  they  appropriated  the  fame  of  Chaka  and 
would  be  looked  upon  with  fear  by  the  weaker 
tribes  they  resolved  on  attacking.  They  passed 
through  the  Swazi  country,  attacking  the  people, 
impressing  many  to  join  them  and  capturing 
many  cattle.  Not  many  of  the  Swazi  tribe  lived 
to  settle  with  the  Ngoni  west  of  Nyasa,  but  the 
oldest  person  in  the  country,  probably,  is  a  Swazi 
woman  whose  husband  was  a  contemporary  of 
Zongandaba,  and  afterwards  a  sub-chief  of 
Mombera's.  Having  increased  their  strength 
and  wealth  by  this  attack  on  the  Swazis,  the 
horde  then  entered  Tongaland  to  the  west  of 
Delagoa  Bay,  and  settled  for  a  time  on  the  lower 
reaches  of  the  Limpopo  river.  They  crossed  the 
Nkomati  river  near  where  there  is  now  a  station 
of  the  Basel  Mission.  Here  a  petty  chief  of 
Chaka,  named  Nqaba,  with  a  following  came 
upon  them  and  there  was  a  battle.  Nqaba  was 
driven  back,  but  Zongandaba  did  not  feel  safe 
even  there  from  an  attack  by  Chaka.  Having 
added  to  their  force  and  their  wealth  by  annexing 
many  Tonga  and  their  cattle,  they  went  towards 
the  west  and  attacked  the  Karanga  tribe.  Here, 
as  among  the  Tonga,  they  instructed  them  in 
their  methods  of  warfare  and  were  gaining  in 


20  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

power  by  these  additions.  After  a  short  resi- 
dence among  the  Karanga  another  move  was 
made  towards  the  north,  and  they  arrived  in 
June  1825  at  the  Zambezi  somewhere  between 
Zumbo  and  Tette. 

Here  it  may  be  of  interest  to  turn  aside  and 
complete  our  narrative  of  the  waves  of  bloodshed 
set  rolling  by  Chaka,  by  glancing  at  the  rise  of 
two  kingdoms  south  of  the  Zambezi,  under  two 
chiefs  driven  out  by  him  about  the  time  that  the 
Ngoni  began  their  wanderings.  The  first  is  that 
of  Gazaland,  first  occupied  by  Sotshangane  who 
fought  with  Zongandaba  under  Zwide  against 
Chaka,  and  fled  at  the  same  time.  We  may  safely 
infer  that  his  progress  northward  was  marked  by 
blood,  and  that  he  and  his  successor  Umzila  did 
not  organise  their  vast  kingdom,  before  then 
composed  of  many  small  tribes,  without  much 
more  bloodshed.  But  who  can  tell  what  sufi'ering 
and  death  resulted  ?  When  Umzila  died,  his  son 
Gungunhana  succeeded,  and  in  the  recent  open- 
ing up  of  Africa  he  has  given  as  much  trouble  to 
the  Portuguese  as  the  Matabele  have  given  to 
the  British. 

The  other  great  power  for  evil  springing  up 
at  this  time  was  Umziligazi,  who  fled  from  the 
tyranny  of  Chaka  and  settled  in  the  north  of  the 
Transvaal.      His   name  inspired  terror  through 


THE  HISTORT  OF  THE  NGONI  21 

a  vast  region,  as  he  completely  subjugated  or 
destroyed  every  tribe  from  whose  opposition  he 
had  anything  to  dread.  Eeaders  of  "  Robert 
and  Mary  Mofiat"  will  remember  that  this  is 
"  the  scourge  of  the  Bechuanas,"  "  the  Napoleon 
of  South  Africa,"  to  whom  Dr  Moffat  went  first 
in  1829.  Afterwards,  when  he  had  removed 
further  north,  Dr  Moffat  travelled  700  miles 
to  see  him  and  seek  his  salvation.  Umziligazi 
formed  a  strong  attachment  to  Dr  Moffat,  which 
was  continued  for  thirty-nine  years,  until  he  died 
in  1868.  The  accounts  given  by  Dr  MofiJat  of 
these  visits  should  be  read  by  every  one,  but  I 
cannot  help  quoting  from  his  biography  by  his 
son,  referred  to  above.  It  describes  Dr  Moffat's 
farewell  to  the  great  chief  in  1860,  when  the 
veteran  laid  down  his  work  at  Inyati  where  the 
Mission  had  been  planted.  "  On  Sunday  morn- 
ing, the  17th  June,  he  walked  up  to  the  chief's 
kraal,  for  the  purpose  of  speaking  to  Umziligazi 
and  his  people  for  the  last  time  on  the  great 
themes  of  life,  death,  and  eternity.  As  we 
followed  him  along  the  narrow  path,  from  our 
camp  to  the  town  about  a  mile  distant,  winding 
through  fields  and  around  patches  of  uncleared 
primeval  forest,  no  step  was  more  elastic  and  no 
frame  more  upright  than  his.  In  spite  of  un- 
ceasing toil   and  tropical  heats    and   miasmatic 


22  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

exhalations,  in  spite  of  cares  and  disappointments, 
his  wonderful  energy  seemed  unabated.  The  old 
chief  was  as  usual  in  his  large  court-yard,  and 
gave  kindly  greeting.  They  were  a  strange  con- 
trast as  they  sat  side  by  side — the  Matabele 
tyrant  and  his  friend  the  messenger  of  peace. 
The  word  of  command  was  given  ;  the  warriors 
filed  in  and  arranged  themselves  in  a  great  semi- 
circle, sitting  on  the  ground,  the  women  crept 
as  near  as  they  could,  behind  huts  and  other 
points  of  concealment,  and  all  listened  in  breath- 
less silence  to  the  last  words  of  '  Moshete.'  He 
himself  knew  that  they  were  his  last  words,  and 
that  his  work  in  Matabeleland  was  now  given 
over  to  younger  hands.  It  was  a  solemn  service, 
and  closed  the  long  series  of  such,  in  which  the 
friend  of  Umziligazi  had  striven  to  pierce  the 
dense  darkness  of  soul  which  covered  him  and  his 
people.  On  the  morrow  there  was  the  last  leave- 
taking,  and  Mofifat  started  for  his  distant  home." 

Lobengula  succeeded  his  father  Umziligazi ; 
the  progress  and  end  of  his  evil  reign  are  fresh 
in  the  mind  of  everyone. 

As  soon  as  the  Ngoni  had  crossed  the  Zambezi 
it  is  said  they  were  in  the  country  of  the  Senga. 
These  are  not  the  Senga  now  living  on  the 
Loangwa  further  north,  of  whom  more  hereafter. 
Their  languages  are  quite  distinct.     The  Senga 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  NGONI  23 

tribe  being  an  easy  prey  to  the  Ngoni  (who  must 
now  have  been  very  numerous,  composed  of  the 
original  stock,  and  the  Swazi,  Tonga,  and 
Karanga  additions  by  the  way)  at  once  sub- 
mitted and  were  incorporated.  They  rested  in 
this  district,  eating  up  the  food  of  the  country 
and  initiating  the  Senga  into  the  use  of  their 
weapons  of  war,  the  shield  and  spear. 

Leaving  the  country  of  the  Senga,  consider- 
ably increased  by  the  addition  of  that  people, 
they  journeyed  north,  evidently  along  the  water- 
shed of  the  Loangwa  river,  until  they  came 
into  the  district  named  Matshulu  which  was 
inhabited  by  Tumbuka,  who  went  under  the 
name  of  Amamatshulu.  The  Tumbuka  tribe  had 
evidently  covered  a  wide  area,  but  as  they  lived 
in  small  villages  of  two  or  three  huts  they  may 
not  have  been  so  very  numerous.  The  Tumbuka 
are  a  very  industrious  agricultural  people,  and 
having  been  unable  to  resist  the  Ngoni  horde 
they  submitted,  and  laboured  to  supply  the 
needs  of  their  conquerors.  The  Ngoni  are  said 
to  have  lived  for  a  comparatively  long  period  in 
the  Matshulu  district,  and  here  began  a  condition 
of  things  in  Zongandaba's  following  which  may 
have  delayed  their  northward  progress  for  three 
or  ten  years,  as  it  is  variously  estimated  by 
natives.     It  was  at  any  rate  a   "  killing  time," 


24  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

which  has  impressed  itself  on  the  minds  of  the 
people  to  this  day.  Zongandaba  had  no  doubt 
conceived  that  he  could  best  conserve  the  in- 
terests and  combine  the  influence  of  those  he 
had  conquered  and  incorporated,  by  appointing 
certain  of  each  tribe  as  his  advisers.  He  had  a 
council  composed  of  Tonga  principally,  and  his 
original  followers  began  to  be  jealous  of  them, 
and  of  Zongandaba's  evident  love  for  them.  The 
Tumbuka,  adepts  at  witchcraft  practices,  they 
impressed  into  their  service.  Charges  of  witch- 
craft were  brought  against  the  leading  members 
of  the  Tonga  tribe,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  Tum- 
buka doctors  and  their  incantations,  Zongandaba 
was  incited  repeatedly  to  organize  an  army  and 
destroy  a  whole  village  at  a  time.  None  in  the 
village  were  spared,  and  during  their  stay  in 
Matshulu  nearly  all  the  Tonga  were  massacred 
in  this  way.  To  this  day  to  say  "People  were 
killed  at  Matshulu "  is  to  emphasise  a  large 
number  as  quoted.  It  was  evident  that  dis- 
content and  thirst  for  power  had  appeared  to 
disorganize  the  hitherto  united  band,  and  it  is 
said  that,  after  this,  Zongandaba  became  very 
despotic  and  approached  to  having  the  character 
of  Chaka.  Such  a  heterogeneous  collection  of 
men  would  doubtless  produce  a  despotic  ruler. 
Only  one  or  two  Tonga  who  had  left  their  own 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  NGONI  25 

country  were  spared  to  the  end  of  the  Ngoni 
wanderings,  but  some  of  their  children  are  still 
living. 

Having  again  taken  their  road  northward 
they  came  to  the  district  they  name  Mapupo, 
inhabited  by  the  Sukuma.  The  district  lies  near 
the  south  end  of  Tanganyika  and  is  now  on  the 
maps  as  the  Fipa  district.  Here  Zongandaba 
died,  after  which  tlie  tribe  suffered  several  dis- 
ruptions. While  in  this  district,  and  combined, 
they  carried  war  northward  on  the  east  of  Tan- 
ganyika ;  eastward  as  far  as  the  Nkonde  tribes 
at  the  north  end  of  Lake  Nyasa,  and  south-east- 
ward to  the  Henga,  then  living  in  the  mountain- 
ous country  near  the  Rukuru  river,  a  few  days' 
journey  from  their  present  location,  which  was 
the  country  of  the  Tumbuka  originally. 

At  the  disruption  the  chief  sections  were :  1. 
That  under  Ntabeni  which  went  northward  on 
the  west  side  of  Tanganyika,  where  in  1879  they 
were  heard  of  by  the  late  Mr  Stewart.  2.  Ntutu 
led  another  section  northward  on  the  east  side  of 
Tanganyika ;  of  these  Stanley  in  his  "  Through 
the  Dark  Continent"  says,  "No  traveller  has  yet 
become  acquainted  with  a  wilder  race  in  Equa- 
torial Africa  than  that  of  the  Mafitte  (Maviti) 
or  Watuta.  They  are  the  only  true  African 
Bedawi ;  and  surely  some  African  Ishmael  must 


26  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

have  fathered  them,  for  their  hands  are  against 
every  man,  and  every  man's  hand  appears  to  be 
raised  against  them.  .  .  .  The  Watuta  became 
separated  from  the  Mafitte  (Maviti  or  Ngoni)  by 
an  advance  in  search  of  plunder  and  cattle." 
They  carried  war  and  bloodshed  over  a  vast 
extent  of  country,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  glance 
at  a  map  of  Central  Africa.  Considering  that 
they  were  only  a  sub-section  of  the  Ngoni,  the 
following  graphic  description  of  their  expedi- 
tion will  indicate  the  tremendous  wave  which 
Chaka  set  rolling  over  twenty-six  degrees  of 
latitude.  Mr  Stanley  continues :  **  The  separa- 
tion {i.e.  of  the  section  referred  to  above  as 
led  by  Ntutu)  occurred  some  thirty  years  ago 
(1840).  On  their  incursion  they  encountered 
the  Warori  who  possessed  countless  herds  of 
cattle.  They  fought  with  them  for  two  months 
at  one  place,  and  three  months  at  another ;  and 
at  last,  perceiving  that  the  Warori  were  too 
strong  for  them — many  of  them  having  been 
killed  in  the  war,  and  a  large  number  of  them 
(now  known  as  the  Wahehe,  and  settled  near 
Ugogo)  having  been  cut  off  from  the  main  body, 
— the  Watuta  skirted  Urori,  and  advanced  north- 
west through  Ukonongo  and  Kawendi  to  Ujiji. 
It  is  in  the  memory  of  the  oldest  Arab  residents 
at  Ujiji  how  the  Watuta  suddenly  appeared  and 


THE  HISTORT  OF  THE  NGONI  27 

drove  them  and  the  Wajiji  to  take  refuge  upon 
Bangwe  Island. 

"  Not  glutted  with  conquest  by  their  triumph 
at  Ujiji,  they  attacked  Urundi ;  but  here  they 
met  different  foes  altogether  from  the  negroes  of 
the  south.  They  next  invaded  Uhha,  but  the 
races  which  occupy  the  intra-lake  regions  had 
competent  and  worthy  champions  in  the  Wahha. 
Baffled  at  Uhha  and  Urundi,  they  fought  their 
devastating  path  across  Uvinza  and  entered 
Unyamwezi,  penetrated  Uzumbwa,  Utambara, 
Urangwa,  Uyofu,  and  so  through  Uzinja  to  the 
Victoria  Nyanza,  where  they  rested  some  years 
after  their  daring  exploit.  They  ultimately  re- 
turned and  settled  in  Ugomba,  between  Uhha 
and  Unyamwezi.  They  are  called  by  the  Nyam- 
wezi  Ngoni." 

3.  The  third  section  is  that  over  which  Mombera 
was  appointed  chief.  Mtwaro  should  have  been 
chief,  but  he  resigned  in  favour  of  Mombera,  as 
being  of  a  quiet  disposition  ;  he  felt  the  burden 
of  ruling  such  a  jealous,  discontented  people  as 
they  had  become  would  be  too  great  for  him. 
Under  Mombera  there  were  his  brothers  Mtwaro, 
Mperembe,  Mpezeni  and  Maurau.  This  section 
moved  eastward  to  a  place  called  Tshidhlodhlo, 
the  locality  only  being  known  now  as  somewhere 
about  the  north   end  of  Nyasa.     Here  a  great 


28  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

battle  was  fought,  and  the  Gwangwara,  over- 
coming the  others  under  Mombera,  drove  them 
back  in  a  southerly  direction.  The  Gwangwara, 
in  settling  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Nyasa,  form 
the  outmost  ripple  of  the  wave  on  that  side,  and 
they  have  carried  fire  and  sword  southward  into 
Yaoland,  and  as  far  as  Masasi,  the  station  of  the 
Universities'  Mission.  Those  under  Mombera  at 
this  point  suffered  a  disruption.  Mperembe  and 
Mpezeni  broke  off.  Mperembe  returned  to  at- 
tack the  Bemba  to  the  south  of  Tanganyika,  and 
Mpezeni  went  south  and  settled  where  he  now  is, 
west  of  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Nyasa. 
Chiwere,  a  head  man,  went  off  with  a  following, 
and  settled  west  of  Kotakota.  Mombera's  division 
first  settled  in  Henga  (the  lower  reaches  of  the 
Rukuru  river),  and  subjugated  the  Henga  section 
of  the  Tumbuka  tribe,  ultimately  entering  the 
Tumbuka  country  proper,  on  the  south-west  of 
Choma  mountain.  Being  joined  again  by 
Mperembe,  they  have  continued  to  occupy  the 
valleys  of  the  Lunyangwa,  Kasitu  and  Rukuru. 
They  defeated  and  began  to  govern  the  Tumbuka 
and  Tonga  on  their  arriving  there,  and  have  only 
a  few  years  ago  given  up  their  predatory  habits. 

What  might  not  have  happened  had  the  dawn 
of  this  century  witnessed  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  the  cause  of  foreign  missions 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  NGONI  29 

which  is  a  feature  of  its  close !     What  achieve- 
ments for  Christ  there  might  have  been !     Here 
we  stand  at  the  Zambezi  and  look  back  at  the 
reigns   of  Dingiswayo,   Chaka   and  Zwide,   and 
see   the   rise  and   fall   of   kingdoms ;    rivers   of 
blood  shed;  a  million  or  more  massacred,  con- 
demned to  cannibalism,  or  to  death  by  starva- 
tion ;  fathers  slaying  their  children,  and  children 
their  fathers;  and  God's  fair  earth  made  worse 
than  hell — all  for  want  of  the  Gospel.     We  see 
before  us  a  horde  of  barbarians,  their  faces  set  to 
the  north,  who,  over  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
miles,  are  to  spread  death  and  desolation  ere  the 
Gospel  comes  to  them  to  make  them  new  men. 
Had  the  Gospel  been  brought  to  Dingiswayo's 
kraal  then,  what  a  different  history  of  South  and 
Central  Africa  could  have  been  written !     There 
was  then  a  more  open  door  to  these  regions  than 
there  has  been  in  these  later  days,  according  to 
the  history  of  missions  in  Zululand,  Matabeleland, 
Gazaland,  the   Upper  Zambezi,  Nyasaland,  and 
away  round  Nyasa  by  the  country  dominated  by 
the  Gwangwara,  who  are  Ngoni,  down  through 
Yaoland,  for  all  were  affected  by  the  convulsions 
induced  in  Chaka's  time.    We  read  of  Dingiswayo 
in  the  beginning  of  this  century  opening  a  trade 
with  the  Portuguese  at  Delagoa  Bay,  giving  liberal 
rewards  to  his  people  for  inventive  or  imitative 


30  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

genius  displayed  in  the  production  of  things  with 
which  he  might  trade  with  the  Portuguese,  and 
having  a  karosse  manufactory,  in  which  a  hundred 
men  were  employed.  These  were  days  of  peace 
and  industry  such  as  have  not  been  found  any- 
where else  on  the  arrival  of  missionaries  in  those 
regions.  Again,  in  the  days  of  Chaka,  over  whom 
one  or  two  Europeans  (Messrs  Fynn,  Farewell, 
and  Isaacs)  seem  to  have  had  great  influence, 
gained  by  fair  dealing  and  medical  skill,  one  of 
them  wrote  :  "  On  one  occasion,  as  I  have  before 
related,  when  we  communicated  to  him  our 
opinions  on  the  existence  of  God,  who  made  the 
world,  and  of  a  future  state,  and  told  them  that 
by  a  knowledge  of  letters  all  our  confidence  of 
being  immortal  beings  had  arisen,  he  expressed 
surprise,  and  wished  much  that  the  doctors  or 
missionaries  would  come  to  him,  and  teach  him 
to  acquire  this  knowledge.  The  greatest  state  of 
ignorance  on  this  sublime  subject  pervaded  him. 
But  I  have  ever  been  impressed  forcibly  from  the 
desire  he  manifested  to  have  among  his  people 
missionaries  whom,  he  said,  he  would  protect  and 
reward,  that  he  might  have  been  brought  to  some 
sense  of  reason  on  this  important  point,  so  neces- 
sary for  the  promoting  of  civilization."  But  the 
Church  of  Christ  was  at  the  time  iornorant  of  her 

o 

duty,  and  was  not  impressed  by  the  opportunity 
of  extending  her  Lord's  kingdom. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    NATIVES    AND    THEIR    COUNTRY 

THE  physical  features  of  Ngoniland  may  be 
denoted  in  a  few  words.  Situated  about 
4000  feet  above  the  sea-level  it  has  little  or 
nothing  to  suggest  its  being  in  the  tropics,  save 
the  daily  course  of  the  sun  and  the  periodic 
rains.  There  are  no  broad  sluggish  rivers  whose 
muddy  banks  are  covered  with  mangrove  thicket, 
above  which  rise  giant  trees  and  stately  palms 
such  as  are  usually  associated  with  pictures  of 
tropical  scenery.  Leaving  Lake  Nyasa  at  an 
altitude  of  1500  feet  we  have  to  cross  the  broken 
mountain  ranges,  rising  in  some  cases  to  7000 
feet,  which  form  the  eastern  boundary  of  Ngoni- 
land. From  the  heights  we  behold  hundreds  of 
square  miles  of  open  undulating  country,  whose 
low  wooded  hills  run  north  and  south  for  most 
part,  the  broad  valleys  being  traversed  by 
streams  which  become  roaring  torrents  during 
the  brief  rainy  season,  but  at  other  times  are 
small   and    easily   forded.       Looking   over    the 


32  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

country  at  our  feet,  we  are  struck  by  its  treeless- 
ness,  save  on  the  crowns  of  the  low  hills.  Here 
and  there  we  find  single  large  trees  and,  at 
intervals,  dark  green  patches  which  look  like 
fields  of  green  corn,  but  which  are  in  reality 
patches  of  bush  composed  of  fresh  shoots  from 
the  roots  of  trees  cut  down,  which  features 
denote  dry  unfruitful  soil  not  worth  tilling.  It 
is  evident  that,  at  one  time,  the  whole  country 
was  covered  by  dense  forests  of  large  trees,  which 
have  been  ruthlessly  cut  down  for  fire-wood,  or, 
as  is  more  frequently  the  case,  to  be  burned  on 
the  ground  as  manure  for  new  gardens.  The 
intervening  ground,  if  viewed  in  the  dry  season, 
appears  as  bare,  whitish,  or  yellowish-red  soil, 
as  the  extensive  gardens  are  then  empty  and  the 
grass  burned  up.  It  is  not  easy  to  pick  out  the 
villages  as  the  colour  of  the  dried  thatch  accords 
with  that  of  the  bare  ground  and  renders  them 
not  readily  visible.  The  most  conspicuous 
feature  of  the  district  is  the  innumerable  ant- 
hills scattered  over  the  plains.  Seen  from  a 
distance  they  resemble  stacks  of  hay  in  a  field. 
They  are  the  product  of  the  white  ant,  the  most 
destructive  pest  we  have,  a  full  account  oi  which 
is  given  in  a  most  interesting  way  in  Prof. 
Drummond's  "  Tropical  Africa."  The  ant-hills 
in  Ngoniland  are   larger  than  any  to   be  seen 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRT       33 

elsewhere.  They  are  not  the  turret-shaped 
variety  to  be  seen  in  the  low  countries,  but  arc 
huge  mounds  in  many  instances  50  feet  in  cir- 
cumference at  the  base  and  20  feet  in  height. 
The  clay  composing  these  mounds  is  very  suitable 
for  brick-making,  and  from  even  one  ant-hill 
a  whole  Mission  station  could  be  built. 

The  villages  are  situated  near  the  streams  or 
fountains.  The  native  has  no  idea  of  bringing 
water  to  his  town  save  by  the  usual  beast  of 
burden — woman,  and  so  the  presence  of  water 
decides  where  the  village  is  to  be  built.  He 
can  drive  his  cattle  far  enough  to  pasture,  or  go 
miles  and  cultivate  his  garden,  but  water  which 
is  needed  every  day  has  to  be  carried,  and  the 
women  who  have  to  do  that  have  some  voice  in 
the  choice  of  a  site  for  a  town.  The  low  hills 
form  natural  divisions  between  chiefs'  and  sub- 
chiefs'  districts,,  and  consequently,  while  Ngoni- 
land  is  perhaps  100  miles  long  by  60-80  broad, 
the  villages  are  mainly  in  groups  around  the 
large  town  of  the  chief  or  sub-chief,  and  are 
easily  overtaken  by  district  schools  and  evan- 
gelistic agencies. 

The  towns  and  villages  are  not  permanent 
locations.  Every  three  or  four  years  the  inmates 
find  it  necessary  to  make  new  homes,  and  a 
fresh  start  in  life  as  regards  domiciliary  comforts. 


34  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

The  wliite  ant  attacks  the  wood  and  grass  of  tlie 
hut ;  the  bugs,  tampans  and  jiggers,  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  inmate ;  and  the  accumulations  of 
filth  around  the  village  make  life  unbearable 
even  to  the  native ;  he  is  forced  to  seek  a  new 
home. 

Removing  a  village  to  a  new  site  was  one  of 
the  great  events  in  the  history  of  the  people. 
It  marked  a  division  in  his  calendar  and  became 
a  point  by  which  he  could  locate  events.  It  was 
one  of  the  occasions  when  he  had  to  be  religious, 
and  so  the  removal  was  inaugurated  by  certain 
religious  rites.  The  cattle  are  the  sustenance  and 
the  bond  of  the  family,  the  village,  and  the  tribe. 
The  care  of  the  cattle  in  the  new  town  was  first 
seen  to.  The  size  of  the  fold  having  been 
decided  upon,  and  marked  ofi"  by  making  a  circle, 
it  was  built  of  trees  and  shrubs,  at  first  of  a 
temporary  nature,  because  by  tradition  it  had  to 
be  begun  after  sunrise,  finished,  and  the  cattle 
folded  before  sunset,  on  the  same  day.  When 
the  cattle  were  driven  in,  the  religious  ceremonies 
conducted  by  the  divining  doctor  were  further 
developed,  by  selecting  a  certain  beast  as  a 
sacrifice  to  the  village  ancestral  spirit.  This 
beast  would  ultimately  be  killed  for  the  spirit, 
and  eaten  by  the  people  when  the  village  was 
occupied.     Although  many  religious  rites  of  the 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRY       35 

people  appear  to  us  grotesque  and  unreal,  yet 
a  close  examination  of  them  proves  the  existence 
of  their  belief  in  a  Providence,  a  Judge,  and  an 
Almighty  King,  but  we  cannot  stop  to  unfold 
the  matter  here.  The  huts  of  the  people  are 
built  in  circles  around  the  cattle-fold.  Like 
everything  the  native  makes  they  are  circular, 
and  he  points  to  the  sun,  moon,  and  horizon  as  a 
reason  why  they  should  be  so.  A  few  sticks  set 
in  the  ground  and  plastered  inside,  with  a 
wattled  roof  covered  with  grass,  constitutes  the 
native  hut.  He  does  not  use  it  as  a  shelter 
from  the  sun  but  from  cold,  and  its  circular 
form  reflects  heat  and  renders  it  comfortable 
in  the  cold  nights  which  are  experienced  on 
the  hills. 

The  size  of  the  hut  depends  upon  the  position 
of  the  master;  it  is  from  10  to  20  feet  in 
diameter,  but  the  walls  are  not  more  than  from 
4  to  8  feet  in  height.  The  roof  comes  down 
nearly  to  the  ground,  and  so  a  cool  verandah 
is  formed,  under  which  the  inmates  can  enjoy 
their  siesta,  or  congregate  on  wet  days  to  in- 
dulge in  their  favourite  pastime — gossip — or 
perform  their  toilet,  the  women  requiring  a  long 
time,  owing  to  their  manner  of  dressing  the  hair. 
The  huts  are  single-roomed  of  course,  the  inner 
part  being  the  storehouse  for  seed,  corn,  pots,  and 


36  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

other  utensils  required  in  the  daily  round.  The 
fire  is  made  in  a  circular  depression  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  and  the  cooking-pot  is  set  on  three 
stones  above  the  fire,  which  is  always  of  wood. 
The  smoke  finds  an  exit  by  the  door  or  through 
the  roof,  and  the  rafters  are  covered  by  soot 
which  protects  them  from  the  attacks  of  white 
ants.  One  can  tell  the  direction  of  the  prevailing 
wind,  by  the  colour  of  the  outside  thatch  being 
browned  by  smoke  on  the  leeward  side.  In  days 
by-gone  the  floors  of  the  huts  of  the  better 
classes  were  like  polished  ebony.  Clay  was 
beaten  hard  and  smooth  while  drying,  and  after 
being  polished  by  rubbing  with  smooth  stones, 
the  floor  was  smeared  with  ox-bloo.d  and  polished 
again.  In  ordinary  cases  the  floors  and  open 
space  in  front  of  the  hut  were  smeared  with 
fresh  cow-dung  subsequently  scraped  ofi"  by  hand ; 
this  left  a  clean  and  cool  floor  free  from  dust 
in  which  fleas  could  breed.  The  brick  floors  of 
many  Mission  houses  are  regularly  treated  in  the 
same  way,  and  it  is  found  to  be  a  good  plan  for 
preserving  the  floors  intact.  In  the  days  when 
every  Ngoni  was  a  warrior,  it  was  the  work  of 
the  women  to  build  and  repair  the  huts,  as  well  as 
cultivate  the  gardens,  but  now  the  men  share  the 
work,  and  all  that  the  women  do  is  to  collect  grass 
for  thatch,  plaster  the  walls,  and  make  the  floors. 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRY       37 

But  before  the  huts  are  built — as  the  village  is 
always  built  in  autumn — the  grain-stores  have  to 
be  erected  for  the  crops  to  be  reaped.  They  are 
made  by  plaiting  reeds  into  huge  baskets  5  or 
6  feet  high  and  as  many  in  diameter,  which  are 
placed  on  platforms  a  foot  or  more  from  the 
ground.  Sometimes  they  too  are  plastered,  but 
only  on  the  outside,  and  when  the  mealies  or 
millet  stored  in  them  have  been  well  dried,  a 
grass  roof  is  put  on  prior  to  the  rains.  These 
grain-stores  are  built  between  the  huts  and  the 
cattle-fold.  The  huts  are  arranged  in  groups 
walled  off  from  each  other  by  reed  fences,  so  that 
each  man  with  his  wives'  huts,  and  those  of  his 
slaves,  if  he  has  any,  has  a  distinct  locality  in  the 
village.  The  huts  of  the  headman  or  chief  and 
his  seraglio  and  slaves,  are  situated  always  at  the 
opposite  side  from  the  cattle-fold  gate,  from  which 
a  broad  road  leads  to  the  watering  or  pasture. 
The  space  at  the  kraal  gate  is  the  public  room  of 
the  village  where  anyone  may  go,  and  where  we 
usually  have  our  services,  but  inside  the  cattle- 
fold  all  indahas  (cases)  are  talked,  and  the 
village  dances  take  place. 

Such  is  the  description  of  a  native  village. 
Around  the  huts  the  smooth  beaten  ground  is 
swept  every  day,  and  when  once  inside  the 
village,  one's  sensitiveness  is  not  offended,  but 


38  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONJ 

the  serious  matter  is  the  approach.  Good  for  the 
natives  is  it  that  their  bodies  cannot  always 
endure  the  incessant  attack  of  certain  insects 
inhabiting  the  huts,  and  that  they  are  compelled 
every  three  or  four  years  to  build  a  new  village 
and  burn  everything  connected  with  the  old  one. 
There  is  not  the  slightest  attempt  at  sanitary 
arrangements.  The  ashes  from  the  fires,  the 
refuse  of  maize,  the  sweepings  of  the  village,  and 
filth  of  all  kinds  find  their  place  just  round  the 
village  behind  the  outer  row  of  huts.  The  state 
of  filth  around  is  indescribable.  After  a  year  or 
two  the  tampan,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most 
prevalent  pests  of  Africa,  multiplies  in  the  huts, 
and  so  at  length,  more  from  that  than  because  of 
the  general  collapse  of  the  village,  the  natives 
have  to  make  a  new  one.  The  tampan  is  a 
thousand  times  more  annoying  than  the  bug  of 
which  also  there  is  usually  a  good  supply.  It  is 
larger  when  full  grown  than  a  sheep-tick,  of  a 
dirty-grey  colour,  and  so  tough  as  not  to  be 
easily  killed  by  crushing.  The  sight  of  them, 
even  before  one  has  experienced  their  bite,  is 
most  repulsive.  They  are  not  to  be  seen  during 
the  day  as  they  enter  the  cracks  in  the  roughly- 
plastered  huts,  or  hide  in  the  roof,  but  no  sooner 
has  one  lain  down,  than  they  come  out  and  feed 
off"  him.     Their  bite  is  very  irritating,  and  has 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRY 


39 


the  reputation  of  producing  fever,  dysentery,  and 
other  troubles.  The  effect  of  the  bite  appears  to 
be  dependent  on  the  physical  condition  of  the 
individual  at  the  time  of  the  attack.  I  have 
been  bitten  when  there  have  been  no  effects  per- 
ceptible except  the  discomfort  locally.  At  other 
times  a  night  or  two  in  a  native  hut  has  almost 
completely  laid  me  down — the  feeling  of  malaise 
and  tendency  to  sickness  were  very  pronounced. 
The  tampan  seems  to  be  common  all  over  Africa, 
and  a  species  from  Egypt  is  named  Argas 
savignyi,  with  which  those  in  Central  Africa 
are  closely  allied.  The  sleeping-place  of  native 
servants  on  the  stations  cannot  be  kept  free  from 
them.  The  boys  bring  them  from  the  villages 
in  their  clothes,  but  ordinary  care  prevents  their 
entrance  into  the  missionary's  rooms.  Indeed 
from  that  and  other  commoner  organisms,  when- 
ever I  returned  home  from  a  tour  on  which  I  had 
to  reside  in  native  huts,  I  was  put  in  quarantine 
as  a  precaution. 

When  the  natives  leave  their  old  village  the 
huts  are  burned  down,  except  those  belonging  to 
deceased  persons,  which  are  left  to  fall  to  pieces, 
as  the  spirits  are  supposed  still  to  visit  them.  On 
the  site  of  an  old  village  for  many  years  they  sow 
maize,  and  I  have  seen  it  1 2  feet  high  and  growing 
so  closely  together  as  to  be  scarcely  penetrable. 


40  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

Let  us  spend  a  day  in  such  a  village.  The 
native  is  an  early  riser.  Ere  the  sun  has  ap- 
peared, men  and  women  are  out  of  doors.  The 
cow-herds  have  gone  to  milk  the  cattle  before 
driving  them  out  to  the  bush,  where  they  browse 
all  day  and  are  brought  home  at  sunset,  when 
they  are  again  milked.  The  women  set  off  to 
the  river  with  a  big  earthen  pot  on  the  head,  and 
return  with  it  full  of  water — such-like  exercise 
giving  the  native  women  that  grace  of  carriage 
which  would  be  the  envy  of  ladies  in  civilized 
countries.  The  native  woman  can  carry  twice 
as  much  as  a  man  on  her  head.  If  the  village 
is  dependent  on  water  from  a  fountain  it  is 
"first  come  best  served."  I  have  been  march- 
ing through  a  fountain  country  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  seen  women  and  girls  running 
to  the  fountains  at  that  hour,  in  hope  of  finding 
sufficient  water  before  the  others  come.  Then 
the  woman  has  the  firewood  to  gather,  the 
maize  to  pound  in  a  wooden  mortar  and  grind 
into  flour  for  the  evening  meal.  She  has  to  find 
the  umhido  (green  herbs)  which,  in  the  absence 
of  meat,  is  required  as  a  relish  with  the  stiff 
maize  porridge  which  is  the  staple  diet  of  man, 
woman,  and  child.  She  has  a  large  part  of  the 
day  in  the  dry  season  in  which  she  may  gossip 
with  her  neighbours,  or  lie  down  and  sleep  in 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRT      41 

the  cool  verandah  of  her  hut.  As  evening  comes 
on  she  has  again  to  visit  the  river  with  her 
water-pot,  and  cook  the  food  for  the  men,  who 
eat  apart,  no  woman  venturing  to  eat  along  with 
her  husband  or  in  the  presence  of  a  man.  In 
the  rainy  season  she  has  hard  work  indeed, 
having  to  work  in  the  gardens  in  addition  to  her 
household  duties.  The  one  thing  a  woman  tries 
to  excel  in,  and  gain  a  reputation  for,  is  the 
making  of  beer.  Brewing  is  solely  woman's 
work.  She  is  privileged  to  preside  at  the  beer- 
drinking,  and  usually  ends  all  by  becoming  in- 
toxicated. She  may  not  eat  with  her  husband 
or  his  friends,  but  she  may  get  drunk  along  with 
them.  At  other  times  she  has  to  reverence  her 
husband  by  not  pronouncing  his  name,  unless 
she  swears  by  it,  but  at  beer-drinkings  no  rule 
binds  her  save  that  her  beer  ought  to  make  those 
who  partake  of  it  drunk.  These  beer-feasts  end 
in  quarrels  and  evil  of  every  kind. 

A  very  bad  custom  obtains  in  connection  with 
planting  and  reaping  which  produces  much 
drunkenness.  The  meagre  hoeing  given  to  the 
ground  necessitates  the  cultivation  of  vast 
stretches  of  garden  ground,  in  order  to  plant 
the  year's  supply  of  food.  To  get  the  ground 
hoed  and  planted,  householders,  who  have  many 
gardens,  invite  labourers  by  carrying  large  pots 


42  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

of  strong  beer  to  the  garden.  There  is  no  lack 
of  willing  workers  who  drink  and  shout  and, 
in  the  end,  quarrel  and  fight,  sometimes  laying 
each  other's  heads  open  with  a  blow  from  their 
hoes.  These  scenes  are  utterly  degrading  and 
nothing  but  a  heartier  desire  for  honest  work  by 
each  owner  of  a  garden,  and  thoroughly  cultivat- 
ing a  smaller  tract,  will  put  down  these  scenes. 
Then  when  hundreds  of  baskets  of  maize  and 
other  grain  have  to  be  carried  home,  or  the  beer 
crop  cut  stalk  by  stalk  and  gathered,  help  is  again 
required,  and  a  beer-drinking  brings  together 
the  workers.  Our  teachers  have  set  their  faces 
against  this  vile  custom  and  have  instituted  a 
feast — mutton  or  goat-flesh  and  porridge — when 
help  is  required,  and  thus  a  step  towards  a  better 
state  of  things  has  been  taken. 

The  work  is  done  principally  by  the  inferior 
wives,  if  a  man  has  more  than  one.  The  head- 
wife,  however,  is  the  overseer  and,  in  a  poly- 
gamous household,  if  her  favourites  are  not  for 
the  time  being  also  her  husband's  favourites,  she 
makes  it  hot  enough  for  those  whom  she  con- 
siders to  be  too  attractive  to  him.  There  are 
frequent  brawls,  but  should  a  man  strike  a  wife 
or  any  woman  he  is  branded  indelibly  as  a  bad 
man  and  may  as  well  go  and  hang  himself.  The 
multitude  of  his  wives  do  not  bring  him  peace. 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRY       43 

The  wordy  warfare  is  often  sharp  and  long  and, 
in  a  measure,  he  has  to  guard  his  words  lest  a 
wife  be  driven  away  to  her  father's  house,  in 
which  case,  if  the  cause  was  sufficient,  she  may 
remain  away  having  as  her  portion  the  cattle 
that  were  paid  for  her  when  she  was  betrothed. 
I  have  seen  a  man  hurrying  after  a  raging  wife 
who  was  en  route  for  her  father's  house,  and  it 
was  anything  but  a  dignified  position  even  for  a 
native  to  be  in.  On  one  occasion  a  man  came  to 
beg  cloth  from  me  to  settle  an  indaba  he  had. 
On  enquiring  I  was  told  that  one  of  his  wives 
had  been  offended  at  some  scolding  he  gave  her 
and  had  gone  to  her  former  home.  She  had  now 
repented  and  was  willing  to  return  to  her 
husband,  but  her  father's  people  would  not 
allow  her  unless  he  first  paid  something  for 
having  caused  her  to  run  away.  I  enquired 
how  many  wives  were  left  to  him  and  he  said  he 
had  still  five.  I  advised  him  to  let  the  run-away 
one  stay  where  she  was,  but  the  great  matter 
for  him  was  that  she  represented  so  many  head 
of  cattle  and  he  could  not  lose  them  as,  by 
having  children  by  her  he  could  give  them  out 
in  marriage  and  so  get  his  cattle-fold  restocked. 
There  was  no  room  for  the  sentiment  of  love. 
It  was  purely  a  mercantile  transaction.  Here  is 
a  native's  description  of  a  household  squabble  : — 


44  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

*'  This  is  a  story  about  wives.  A  man  had 
five  wives  and  they  were  quarrelling  among 
themselves.  One  said  to  another,  '  You  are  all 
right  since  our  husband  loves  you  only.  As  for 
us  he  does  not  love  us  at  all.'  So  they  seized 
each  other  and  fought,  one  of  them  being  greatly 
hurt  in  the  quarrel  over  their  husband.  The 
husband  said,  '  I  love  you  all,  my  wives.'  One 
replied,  saying,  'You  just  love  one  of  your 
wives.'  Others  said,  '  What  did  he  take  us 
from  our  father's  house  for,  seeing  he  only  loves 
one  ? '     There  was  war  very  often." 

When  evening  comes  the  principal  meal  of  the 
day  is  eaten.  It  consists  of  maize  flour  made 
into  a  very  stiff  and  very  partially  cooked 
porridge,  which  is  accompanied  by  a  relish 
composed  of  meat  with  a  little  salt,  green  vege- 
tables or  dried  herbs.  What  bread  is  to  us  this 
porridge  is  to  the  native.  It  matters  not  how- 
ever freely  he  eat,  for  instance,  of  flesh  and 
vegetables,  he  will  complain  of  hunger  unless  he 
has  had  his  quantity  of  porridge.  At  meals  the 
women  and  girls  eat  by  themselves  in  one  part 
of  the  family  compound  or  open  space,  and  the 
men  who  are  usually  to  be  found  in  the  cattle- 
fold  may  have  theirs  along  with  the  boys  there. 
When  the  meal  is  over  there  is  not  much  labour 
clearing  the  table  or  in  the  scullery  afterwards. 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRr       45 

The  porridge  has  been  cooked  in  one  huge  pot 
and  the  portion  for  the  women  put  into  a  broad 
flat  dish,  with  the  relish  in  a  small  earthenware 
pot,  and  that  for  the  men  and  boys  has  been 
served  up  in  the  same  way.     They  all  sit  round 
and,  dipping  the  fingers  in  the  heap  of  porridge, 
take  a  little  which  they  roll  into  a  ball,  dip  it  m 
the  relish  and  literally  pitch  it  into  the  mouth 
They  do  not  chew  it,  and   hence  the  manifold 
digestive  disturbances  the  natives  are  liable  to. 
The  delicacies  of  civilisation    are  said  to   have 
made  men  more  unhappy  and  unhealthy  than  is 
the   simple   untutored   savage.     My   experience 
is  that  civilised  people  have  not  so  much  sickness 
as   natives.       Their   splendid   ivories    are   made 
much  of,  but,  as  I   have  seen   a   few   hundred 
mouths,  the  front  teeth  are  usually  the  only  ones 

preserved.  •    •     i     ;i 

When  the  evening  meal  is  over,  if  it  is  the  dry 
season  and  a  moon  present,  the  youths  and  maidens 
of  the  village  go  to  the  cattle-fold  to  the  dance, 
which  is  a  recreation  much  liked  by  the  natives. 
The  Ngoni,  unlike  the  Tonga  and  Tumbuka 
peoples!"  have  no  obscene  dances,  and  on  a  clear 
evenino-,  when  all  around  is  still,  it  is  very  en- 
ioyable^  to  listen  to  their  song  accompaniment 
(from  a  distance).  It  is  then  that  the  glamour 
of  native  life  is  thrown  over  the  casual  visitor, 


46  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  perhaps  it  is  excusable  that  he  goes  away 
filled  with  the  idea  that  the  native  spends  an 
idyllic  life,  has  no  care,  and  is  always  happy  and 
free.  True,  there  is  apparent  peace  and  joy  in 
the  village  as  the  young  people,  not  infrequently 
joined  by  many  of  the  mothers  with  babies  on 
their  backs,  join  in  song  and  dance  for  an  hour 
or  two  after  sunset.  But  it  is  only  one  phase 
of  native  life,  which  does  not,  to  those  who  are 
behind  the  scenes,  cover  the  unhappiness,  the 
slavish  fear  of  evil  spirits,  tlie  often  cruel  bonds 
of  heathen  customs,  and  above  all  the  secret 
immorality,  lying,  stealing,  and  often  murder, 
which  abound  in  every  native  community. 

The  song  is  the  principal  thing — not  the  dance. 
The  dance  is  the  accompaniment  of  the  song,  and 
not  vice  versd.  Their  songs  are  well-nigh  unin- 
telligible to  a  stranger,  as  they  consist  of  short 
statements  relating  to  some  incident  in  the  every- 
day life  or  history  of  the  people,  and  without  a 
knowledge  of  those  incidents  one  cannot  under- 
stand them.  From  them,  however,  one  may 
obtain  a  very  minute  record  of  the  people's 
history.  The  men,  with  dancing-sticks  in  their 
hands,  held  erect,  form  one  line,  and  the  women 
form  a  line  some  distance  apart  from,  and  opposite 
to,  the  men.  All  sing  heartily,  and  the  dance 
consists  in  merely  striking  the  ground  with  the 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRY       47 

feet,  while  the  sticks  are  waved  overhead,  with 
certain  movements  of  the  body  and  head  carried 
out  in  unison,  the  whole  combined  forming  a  not 
unpleasing,  although  unrefined  exhibition.  The 
song,  as  heard  from  a  distance,  is  not  without 
artistic  effect  as  the  high-pitched  voices  of  the 
women,  usually  very  musical,  and  the  deeper 
voices  of  the  men  rise  and  fall  in  the  evening 
stillness  in  musical  cadence.  In  some  of  the 
songs  there  are  dialogues,  the  men  and  women 
speaking  to  each  other  in  rhythmical  notes.  In 
these  dialogues  the  music  is  not  unsuited  to  the 
subject.  In  some  songs  the  maidens  take  up,  it 
may  be,  a  taunt  against  the  young  men  concern- 
ing some  war  exploit,  domestic  fracas,  or  play- 
fully assert  that  the  young  men  of  their  village 
are  inferior  to  those  of  some  other  village.  To  this 
taunt  in  song  the  young  men  reply  in  notes  suited 
to  their  indignation  at  the  charge.  Thus  the  song 
goes  on,  while  the  rhythmic  gestures  and  beating 
of  the  ground  with  the  feet  add  zest  to  the  sub- 
ject. At  certain  stages  in  the  song  the  words  are 
dropped,  and  the  women  continue  the  tune  in  a 
low,  humming  voice,  while  the  movements  of  the 
men  are  continued  ;  and  then,  at  another  stage, 
the  women  clap  hands  in  unison,  but  always  in 
two  parts,  with  a  slight  interval  of  time,  so  that 
the  sound  is  doubled  and  accentuated.    The  dance 


48  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

forms  a  suitable  occasion  for  the  youths  of  the 
village  to  show  themselves  off  in  front  of  the 
young  women,  whose  favour  they  may  be  anxious 
to  obtain. 

Such  is  the  village  dance ;  but  in  the  dry  season, 
after  the  crops  have  been  reaped,  there  is  a  kind 
of  competitive  dance  engaged  in  between  two 
villages.  Without  warning,  the  young  people  of 
one  village  will  come  to  another  village,  dressed 
in  all  their  best  things.  They  enter  the  cattle- 
fold  singing,  and  begin  to  dance.  Those  of  the 
village  visited  who  are  within  call  are  quickly 
summoned  to  engage  the  strangers,  and  they  are 
prepared  to  begin  to  dance  when  the  other  party 
stops  to  rest,  the  desire  being  to  out-dance  the 
other  by  holding  the  field  as  long  as  they  can,  as 
well  as  to  have  the  best  singing  and  most  perfect 
movements.  Thus  they  go  on,  one  party  after 
the  other,  during  the  whole  day,  and  when  the 
sun  has  well  declined,  the  strangers  return  home, 
singing  gaily  all  the  way. 

The  daily  life  of  the  men  is  soon  described. 
They  have  usually  no  work  to  do.  Their  day  is 
spent  in  talking,  taking  snuff,  and  drinking  beer. 
They  may  do  a  little  hoeing  in  the  busy  season, 
and  cut  the  trees  where  a  new  garden  is  being 
made,  but  that  is  about  all.  The  introduction  of 
labour  by  the  Mission  has  effected  a  great  change, 


THE  NATIVES  AND  THEIR  COUNTRT      49 

as  the  men  who  were  wont  to  go  out  raiding  other 
tribes  during  the  whole  of  the  dry  season,  are 
now  found  eager  to  obtain  work.  Some  few  are 
found  who,  of  their  own  free  will,  devise  work, 
and  are  always  busy  since  there  are  trades  found 
among  them. 

The  men's  place  is  the  cattle-fold,  where  they 
spend  their  day,  and  a  stranger  visiting  a  village 
goes  to  the  gate  to  await  the  salutations  of  the 
people,  and  to  be  enquired  of  as  to  his  business 
before  he  is  conducted  to  the  house  of  the  party 
he  may  have  come  to  see.  There  is  a  well- 
defined  etiquette  observed  throughout  the  com- 
munity. It  is  a  great  oflfence  for  one  to  sit  down 
opposite  the  door  of  a  hut.  A  native's  house,  as 
well  as  a  Britisher's,  is  his  castle,  and  no  one  dare 
enter  uninvited.  Neither  may  one  sit  down 
near  the  house  without  giving  warning  by  a 
cough,  an  exclamation,  or  by  salutation,  as  eaves- 
dropping is  a  crime  which  is  abhorred  by  the 
natives. 

One  of  the  pretty  sights  about  a  native  village 
in  the  evening  is  the  folding  of  the  cattle.  As 
the  sun  sinks  the  cattle  begin  to  turn  homeward. 
The  boys  who  tend  them  have  reeds  which  they 
cause  to  emit  a  not  unmusical  sound — the  diflfer- 
ent  cattle-herds  having  differently  pitched  reeds 
— by  manipulating  the  open  end  as  they  blow 

D 


50 


AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 


througli,  and  all  sounded  together  produce  a 
simple,  sweet  music.  The  cattle  collect  together 
where  they  have  been  grazing  as  the  boys  blow 
their  reeds,  and  wend  their  way  home  for  the 
evening  milking  and  to  rest  over  night  in  the 
open  fold.  The  old  Ngoni  were  wholly  a  pastoral 
people,  and  only  in  recent  years  have  gone  in  for 
agriculture  to  the  extent  they  now  do.  Before 
the  cattle  plague  the  herds  were  numerous 
and  large,  but  now  there  are  only  tens  where 
before  there  were  hundreds.  The  cessation  of 
war  raids  also  accounts  to  some  extent  for  the 
decrease  in  the  number  of  cattle  owned,  as  cattle- 
lifting  was  a  constant  occupation  in  the  dry 
season. 


CHAPTER  III 

NATIVE   CUSTOMS    AND    BELIEFS 

IT  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  even  among 
barbarous  tribes,  such  as  the  Ngoni,  all  their 
customs  are  bad.  There  were,  before  Christian 
teaching  began  to  influence  them,  many  things 
which  were  admirable.  Those  traits  of  char- 
acter and  customs  so  readily  seen  by  strangers, 
the  observation  of  which  has  so  often  led  travel- 
lers to  believe  that  the  state  of  the  untutored 
savage  was  happy,  free  and  good,  are  neverthe- 
less found  alongside  lower  ways  of  living,  and 
a  grossly  immoral  character,  which  are  not  only 
the  obstacles  to  Mission  work  but  its  raison 
d'etre.  It  is  not  our  purpose,  meantime,  to  state 
or  explain  fully  the  customs  of  the  people,  all  of 
which  have  an  interest  from  the  anthropological 
point  of  view,  but  to  present  a  brief  sketch  of 
those  which  stood  out  as  hindrances  to  the  pro- 
gress of  our  work,  and  which,  being  bad,  had  to 
succumb  to  the  influences  of  the  moral  and 
spiritual  teaching  of  the  gospel.     There  are  many 


52  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

customs  so  grossly  obscene  that  we  cannot  enter 
upon  a  statement  of  them.  I  avail  myself  of  a 
letter  from  my  colleague,  Rev.  Donald  Fraser, 
which  he  recently  sent  home,  describing  what  he 
witnessed  in  an  out-lying  district  of  Ngoniland 
in  connection  with  the  initiation  customs  at  the 
coming  of  age  of  young  women. 

"  Leaving  these  bright  scenes  behind,  I  moved 
on  west  into  Tumbuka  country  to  open  up  new 
territory.  But  scarcely  had  I  turned  my  back 
on  Hora  when  I  began  to  feel  the  awful  oppres- 
sion of  dominant  heathenism.  For  a  few  days 
I  stopped  at  the  head  chiefs  village,  where  we 
have  recently  opened  a  school.  The  chief  was 
holding  high  days  of  bacchanalian  revelry.  He 
and  his  brother  and  many  others  were  very 
drunk  when  I  arrived,  and  continued  in  the 
same  condition  till  I  left.  Day  after  day  the 
sound  of  drunken  song  went  up  from  the  village. 
Several  times  a  day  they  came  to  visit  me  and 
to  talk  :  but  their  presence  was  only  a  pest,  for 
they  begged  persistently  for  everything  they  saw, 
from  my  boots  to  my  tent  and  bed.  The  poor, 
young  chief  has  quickly  learned  all  the  royal 
vices — beer-drinking,  hemp-smoking,  numerous 
wives,  incessant  begging.  I  greatly  dread  lest 
we  have  come  too  late,  but  God's  grace  can 
transform  him  yet. 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  53 

"  When  we  left  Mbalekelwa's  we  marched  for 
two  days  towards  the  west,  keeping  to  the  valley 
of  a  little  river.  Along  the  route,  especially 
during  the  second  day,  we  passed  through  an 
almost  unbroken  line  of  Tumbuka  villages.  At 
every  resting-point  the  people  came  to  press  on 
us  to  send  them  teachers,  and  frequently  ac- 
companied their  requests  with  presents.  When 
at  last  we  arrived  at  Chinde's  head  village,  we 
received  a  very  cordial  welcome.  Chinde  (a  son 
of  Mombera)  did  everything  he  could  to  con- 
vince us  of  his  unbounded  pleasure  in  our  visit. 
For  three  or  four  days  we  stayed  there,  and  were 
overwhelmed  with  presents  of  sheep  and  goats, 
and  with  eager  requests  for  teachers.  Leaving 
this  hospitable  quarter,  we  had  a  long,  weary 
march  through  a  waterless  forest,  in  which  we 
saw  the  fresh  spoor  of  many  buffaloes  and  other 
large  game,  and  heard  a  lion  roaring  in  front. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  Chinombo's 
and  remained  for  other  three  days.  Here  again, 
we  were  well  received  and  loaded  with  presents. 

"  This  whole  country  to  the  west  is  still  un- 
touched. That  the  people  are  eager  to  learn  is 
evident  from  their  urgent  requests.  That  they 
sadly  lack  God,  and  are  living  in  a  dreadful 
degradation,  became  daily  more  and  more  patent. 
I  cannot  yet  write  as  an  inner  observer.     Tshi- 


54  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

tumbuka,  the  language  spoken  there,  I  am  only 
now  beginning  to  learn.  Yet  the  outer  exhibi- 
tions of  vice  and  drunkenness  and  superstition 
were  only  too  painfully  evident. 

"  Often  have  I  heard  Dr  Elmslie  speak  of  the 
awful  customs  of  the  Tumbuka,  but  the  actual 
sight  of  some  of  these  gave  a  shock  and  horror 
that  will  not  leave  one.  The  atmosphere  seems 
charged  with  vice.  It  is  the  only  theme  that 
runs  through  songs,  and  games,  and  dances. 
Here  surely  is  the  very  seat  of  Satan. 

"It  is  the  gloaming.  You  hear  the  ringing 
laughter  of  little  children  who  are  playing  before 
their  mothers.  They  are  such  little  tots  you 
want  to  smile  with  them,  and  you  draw  near ; 
but  you  quickly  turn  aside,  shivering  with 
horror.  These  little  girls  are  making  a  game 
of  obscenity,  and  their  mothers  are  laughing. 

"The  moon  has  risen.  The  sound  of  boys 
and  girls  singing  in  chorus,  and  the  clapping  of 
hands,  tell  of  village  sport.  You  turn  out  to 
the  village  square  to  see  the  lads  and  girls  at 
play.  They  are  dancing ;  but  every  act  is  awful 
in  its  shamelessness,  and  an  old  grandmother, 
bent  and  withered,  has  entered  the  circle  to 
incite  the  boys  and  girls  to  more  loathsome 
dancing.  You  go  back  to  your  tent  bowed  with 
an  awful  shame,  to  hide  yourself     But  from  that 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  55 

village,  and  that  other,  the  same  choruses  are 
rising,  and  you  know  that  under  the  clear  moon 
God  is  seeing  wickedness  that  cannot  be  named, 
and  there  is  no  blush  in  those  who  practise  it. 

**  Next  morning  the  village  is  gathered  together 
to  see  your  carriers  at  worship,  and  to  hear  the 
news  of  the  white  stranger.  You  improve  the 
occasion,  and  stand,  ashamed  to  speak  of  what  you 
saw.  The  same  boys  and  girls  are  there,  the  same 
old  grandmothers.  But  clear  eyes  look  up,  and 
there  is  no  look  of  shame  anywhere.  It  is  hard  to 
speak  of  such  things,  but  you  alone  are  ashamed 
that  day  ;  and  when  you  are  gone,  the  same 
horror  is  practised  under  the  same  clear  moon. 

"  No ;  I  cannot  yet  speak  of  the  bitterness  of 
heathenism,  only  of  its  horror.  True,  there  were 
hags  there  who  were  only  middle-aged  women, 
and  there  were  men  bowed,  scared,  dull-eyed, 
with  furrowed  faces.  But  when  these  speak  or 
sing  or  dance,  there  seems  to  be  no  alloy  in  their 
merriment.  The  children  are  happy  as  only 
children  can  be.  They  laugh  and  sing,  and  show 
bright  eyes  and  shining  teeth  all  day  long.  But 
what  of  that  ?  Made  in  God's  image,  to  be  His 
pure  dwelling-place,  they  have  become  the  dens 
of  foul  devils  ;  made  to  be  sons  of  God,  they  have 
become  the  devotees  of  passion. 

"  I   have  passed  through  the  valleys  of  two 


56  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

little  rivers  only,  and  seen  there  something  of 
the  external  life  of  those  who  can  be  the  children 
of  God.  The  horror  of  it  is  with  me  day  and 
night.  And  on  every  side  it  is  the  same.  In 
hidden  valleys  where  we  have  never  been,  in 
villages  quite  near  to  this  station,  the  drum  is 
beating  and  proclaiming  shame  under  God's  face. 
And  we  cannot  rest.  But  what  are  we  two 
among  so  many  ?  0  men  and  women,  who  have 
sisters  and  mothers  and  little  brothers  whose  daily 
presence  is  for  you  an  echo  of  the  purity  of  God, 
why  do  you  leave  us  a  little  company,  and 
grudge  those  gifts  that  help  to  tell  mothers  and 
daughters  and  sons  that  impurity  is  for  hell,  and 
holiness  alone  for  us  ! 

"  '  How  loDg,  0  Lord  !  how  long  ? ' 

"I  send  you  this  account  of  a  missionary 
journey.  Would  that  my  pen  could  write  the 
fire  that  is  in  my  soul !  It  is  an  awful  thing  to 
sit  looking  at  sin  triumphant,  and  be  unable  to 
do  anything  to  check  it.  Calls  for  teachers  are 
coming  from  every  side,  but  we  cannot  listen 
to  them  at  present — our  hands  are  more  than 
fuU." 

The  letter  refers  to  the  custom  as  it  obtained 
among  the  Tumbuka  and  Tonga  slaves,  and  it 
presents  an  awful  picture  of  moral   degeneracy 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  57 

which  was  all  too  commonly  seen  on  such  occa- 
sions all  over  Central  Africa.  Althous^h  the 
Ngoni  practice  was  less  openly  obscene  yet  the 
occasion  was  onQ  of  unspeakable  evil,  extending 
over  several  days,  on  which  both  sexes  were 
accorded  full  licence  for  every  unholy  passion. 

In  like  manner  in  connection  with  marriages 
— especially  of  widows — and  the  birth  of  twins  ; 
when  armies  returned  from  war  and  the  purifica- 
tion ceremonies  took  place,  practices  which  are  not 
meet  to  be  described  were  unblushiugly  engaged 
in.  What  in  Christian  lands  is  held  sacred  in 
heathen  lands  is  too  often  the  common  property 
of  young  and  old,  and  where  public  opinion  is 
devoid  of  the  moral  sense  we  cannot  look  for 
elevation  from   within. 

One  of  the  greatest  social  and  moral  evils 
among  the  tribe  is  polygamy.  The  evils  are 
seen  among  all  classes,  for  as  the  tribe  existed 
by  raiding  other  tribes,  all  who  could  bear 
arms  might  possess  themselves  of  captive  wives. 
Among  the  upper  classes  the  rich  held  the  power 
to  secure  all  the  marriageable  girls  in  the  tribe, 
by  purchasing  them  from  their  parents  for  so 
many  cattle.  The  practice  of  paying  cattle  was 
not  in  all  cases  wholly  bad,  but  the  tendency 
was  to  outrage  the  higher  motives  and  feelings, 
especially  in    the   women  who   often   were  bar- 


58  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

gained  for  by  their  parents  long  before  they 
entered  their  teens.  The  cattle  paid  to  the 
father  of  the  bride  formed  a  portion  which  she 
could  claim  and  have  as  a  possession,  in  the 
event  of  her  being  driven  away  by  the  cruelty 
of  her  husband,  and,  in  the  absence  of  a  nobler 
sentiment,  it  was  in  some  degree  a  safeguard 
of  the  interests  of  the  wife.  But  upon  no 
grounds,  social  or  moral,  could  such  a  practice 
be  defended.  It  is  inimical  to  the  true  morality 
of  marriage,  and  consequently  to  the  progress  of 
the  race.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  grey- 
headed old  men,  with  half-a-score  of  wives  already, 
choosing,  bidding  for,  and  securing,  without  the 
woman's  consent,  the  young  girls  of  the  tribe. 
Disparity  of  age,  emotions  and  associations,  make 
such  unions  anything  but  happy,  and  nowhere 
do  quarrels  and  witchcraft  practices  foment  more 
surely  than  in  a  polygamous  household.  A  man's 
wives  are  not  all  located  in  one  village.  He  may 
have  several  villages,  and  from  neglect  young 
wives  are  subject  to  many  grievances  and 
temptations,  so  tliat  it  is  no  wonder  they  age 
in  appearance  so  rapidly.  They  are  often  mal- 
treated by  the  senior  wives,  who,  jealous  of 
them,  bring  charges  against  them,  and,  in  the 
hour  when  they  should  have  the  joy  of  ex- 
pectant motherhood,   they  are  cast  aside  under 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  59 

some  foul  charge,  without  human  aid  or  sympa- 
thetic care.  On  more  than  one  occasion  I  have 
been  called  by  a  weeping  mother  to  give  aid  to 
her  daughter  in  such  circumstances,  when,  if  a 
fatal  issue  resulted,  she  and  her  family  would 
have  been  taken  into  slavery  and  their  possessions 
confiscated.  Only  those  who  spend  years  among 
them  and  are  their  trusted  friends  can  tell  of 
that  and  countless  other  unholy  and  inhuman 
things,  which  result  from  the  custom  of  polygamy 
as  it  exists. 

Flippant  writers  on  such  customs,  especially 
some  travellers  who  had  not  the  opportunity  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  people,  state  that 
polygamy  is,  in  the  savage  state  where  there  is 
an  absence  of  higher  motives,  a  safeguard  of 
morality.  It  is,  however,  far  from  being  so. 
Men  with  several  wives,  and  many  of  the  wives 
of  polygamists,  have  assignations  with  members 
of  other  families.  I  have  been  told  by  serious 
old  men  that  such  is  the  state  of  family  life  in 
the  villages  that  any  man  could  raise  a  case 
against  his  neighbour  at  any  time,  and  that  is 
one  reason  why  friendliness  appears  so  marked 
among  them — each  has  to  bow  to  the  other  in 
fear  of  offending  him  and  leading  to  revelations 
which  would  rob  him  of  his  all. 

The  belief  in  witchcraft  is  the  most  powerful 


6o  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

of  all  the  forces  at  work  among  the  tribes.  It  is 
a  slavery  from  which  there  has  been  found  no 
release.  It  pervades  and  influences  every  human 
relationship,  and  acts  as  a  complete  barrier  to  all 
advancement  wherever  it  is  found  to  operate. 
No  matter  whether  it  be  master  or  slave,  chief 
or  subject,  parent  or  child,  he  has  to  bear  this 
yoke  which  may  at  any  moment  crush  him. 
He  lives  in  fear.  If  he  is  sick  it  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  how  he  may  be  cured,  but  of  who  has 
bewitched  him  ;  or  if  his  plans  are  frustrated 
what  evil  spirit  has  been  moved  against  him. 
The  reason  for  his  apparent  laziness  is  the  feai 
that,  if  he  become  possessed  of  goods,  his  circum- 
stances will  excite  jealousy  and  bring  on  him 
accusations  of  witchcraft,  and  death  as  a  result. 
It  is  productive  of  unrest,  cruel  treatment,  and 
great  loss  of  property  and  life. 

The  itshanusi  or  witch-doctor  lives  upon  the 
credulity  and  slavish  fear  of  the  people.  He  is 
either  self-deceived  or  a  base  impostor,  but  his 
power  for  evil  in  a  tribe  is  unlimited.  He  is 
reverenced  by  all  classes,  and  although  one  may 
hear  whispers  of  a  want  of  faith  in  him  and  his 
incantations,  no  one  would  dare  to  oppose  him 
in  public.  Wicked  men  and  chiefs  make  use 
of  him  and  his  immunity  from  punishment  to 
"  remove "  any  person  who  is  disliked  or  whose 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  6i 

possessions  have  rendered  him  opprobrious  to 
them,  and  a  chief  or  headman's  unjust  demands 
may  be  bolstered  up  by  an  appeal  to  his  easily- 
bought  action.  They  aid  despotic  chiefs  in 
governing  a  discontented  people,  and  from  the 
deep  religious  feeling  which  the  people  have  in 
regard  to  the  presence  and  power  of  the  ancestral 
spirits  with  whom  the  itshanusi  is  believed  to  be 
in  communication,  they  are  ready  to  acknowledge 
even  that  which  may  be  to  their  hurt. 

As  to  their  belief  in  witchcraft  I  might  refer  to 
what  I  have  observed  in  the  course  of  my  practice 
of  medicine  among  the  people.  No  sooner  is  it 
concluded  that  a  person  who  is  sick  has  been 
bewitched,  than  the  friends  around  talk  of  it 
without  constraint  in  the  presence  of  the  patient. 
Sometimes  they  may  carry  him  about  from  place 
to  place  in  the  hope  of  cheating  the  charmer,  but 
the  effect  on  the  patient  is  very  marked.  He 
seems  to  conclude  that  he  is  to  die,  and  he 
evinces  no  fear  or  anxiety  in  view  of  death. 
He  assumes  an  unnatural  stolidity,  despair,  and 
what  might  be  termed  resignation.  Although 
his  imminent  death  is  talked  of  freely  before 
him  he  has  no  fear  or  complaint.  He  shows 
no  desire  to  fight  for  life,  but  with  an  inhuman 
want  of  hope  or  desire  for  recovery  he  awaits 
the  end.      The  thought   that   he   is   bewitched 


62  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

seems  to  deprive  him  of  all  natural  clinging  to 
life.  Even  among  the  youthful  of  both  sexes 
there  is  that  want  of  hope,  when  once  the  elder 
people  have  declared  they  have  been  bewitched. 

In  connection  with  charges  of  witchcraft,  the 
poison  ordeal  is  the  final  and  too  often  calamitous 
sequel.  Before  the  light  of  Christian  truth  came 
to  them,  and  has,  even  where  the  doctrines  are 
not  wholly  embraced,  done  away  with  this  great 
evil,  the  number  annually  killed  by  drinking  the 
muave  cup  cannot  be  estimated.  Anything  a 
man  possesses,  about  which  there  is  any  mystery, 
may  give  rise  to  a  charge  of  witchcraft.  If  a 
man  is  found  walking  near  a  village  at  night  he 
is  charged  with  evil  intentions.  If  one  possesses 
himself  of  an  owl  or  other  night  bird  or  animal, 
he  is  supposed  to  work  evil  by  means  of  such, 
and  is  charged  forthwith.  When  sickness  or 
death  comes  into  a  house  or  village  someone 
is  blamed.  The  itshanusi  is  called,  and  there 
are  not  wanting  those  who  in  their  talk  reveal 
in  what  direction  the  thoughts  of  the  people  lie, 
and  so  he  names  someone,  which  decision  at  once 
appears  reasonable  to  the  people  and  is  accepted. 
Often  the  witch-doctor  has  emissaries  secretly  em- 
ployed to  find  out  what  he  wants,  and,  acting 
upon  information  thus  obtained,  he  appears  to 
the  people  to  be  acting  upon  communications  he 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  63 

has  received  supernaturally.  Sometimes  he  does 
more  to  influence  their  imagination  and  make 
themselves  name  someone  than  by  himself  doing 
so  directly.  I  have  known  several  witch-doctors, 
and  have  come  to  regard  them  as  shrewd  indivi- 
duals, certainly  more  given  to  thought  than  the 
community  generally,  and  who  traded  on  the 
superstitious  fears  of  the  people,  who  seldom  ex- 
ercised their  reason  in  connection  with  ordinary 
occurrences.  On  many  occasions  men  and  women 
have  sought  refuge  at  the  Mission  station  when 
accused  of  witchcraft  and  under  sentence  of  death. 
On  one  occasion,  during  a  trial  which  took  place 
at  a  village  near  the  station,  when  the  itshanusi 
was  performing  his  incantations  and  condemned 
a  man,  he  broke  away  from  the  crowd  and  ran 
towards  the  house.  He  was  followed  by  a  crowd 
of  men  and  boys  clamouring  for  his  life,  and  being 
overtaken,  was  clubbed  to  death  before  our  eyes ; 
his  body  was  ignominiously  dragged  back  to  the 
scene  of  trial,  where  it  was  subjected  to  gross 
indignities. 

On  all  occasions  of  administering  the  poison 
cup  we  tried  to  stop  it.  Sometimes  we  were 
successful  and  sometimes  we  were  not.  Some- 
times we  were  able  to  prevail  upon  them  to 
substitute  dogs  or  fowls  for  the  human  subjects, 
and  then  it  was  possible  for  us  to  watch  the  pro- 


64  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

ceedings.  These  were  occasions  on  which  the 
whole  community  turned  out.  The  friends  of 
the  accused  were  very  few  on  such  occasions, 
and  the  people  jeered  the  unhappy  wretch  and 
engaged  in  song  and  dance  while  he  had  to  stand 
alone  and  prove  his  innocence  by  vomiting  the 
poison,  or,  by  death  from  the  poison,  confirm  the 
truth  of  the  charge  against  him.  When  the 
poison  began  to  take  efi"ect,  as  seen  in  the  quiver- 
ing and  collapse  of  the  culprit,  it  was  the  occa- 
sion for  wild  demoniacal  behaviour,  jeering  and 
cursing  the  dying  man,  unawed  in  the  presence 
of  death.  Then  his  body  was  ignominiously  cast 
into  the  nearest  ravine  to  be  food  for  the  hyenas 
at  night. 

Not  only  was  the  poison  ordeal  resorted  to  in 
cases  of  supposed  witchcraft,  but  the  Tonga  and 
Tumbuka,  with  whom  and  not  with  the  Ngoni 
the  practice  originated,  were  incessantly  using  it. 
In  nearly  every  hut  a  bundle  of  poison-bark 
would  be  found  hid  away  in  the  roof  against 
the  need  to  use  it.  Family  and  other  quarrels 
were  finally  adjusted  by  resort  to  the  ordeal. 
The  women  were  the  mainstay  of  the  horrible 
practice,  and  most  frequently  made  use  of  it. 
Numberless  cases  were  treated  at  the  dispensary, 
when  more  sober  reflection  made  them  seek  an 
emetic.    Sometimes  cases  were  brought  by  others. 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  65 

A  husband  might  come  home  and  find  a  crowd 
about  his  door  and  learn  that  his  wife  had  taken 
muave.  He  would  bring  her  to  me  at  once. 
Sometimes  the  patient  has  died  while  being 
brought,  or  even  at  the  dispensary  door  while  1 
was  making  an  effort  to  save  her.  Frivolous  as 
were  the  reasons  for  resorting  to  such  extreme 
measures  when  quarrels  arose,  there  were  often 
dire  results  therefrom,  and  sometimes  one  met 
with  a  case  which  appeared  ridiculous  even  to 
the  native  mind.  A  strong  young  man  came  to 
me  one  day  saying  he  had  drunk  muave,  and 
desired  an  emetic.  On  enquiry  I  learned  that 
he  and  his  wife  had  quarrelled  during  the  night 
in  the  secrecy  of  their  own  hut.  Failing  to 
agree  after  the  usual  amount  of  talking  char- 
acteristic of  native  brawls,  they  agreed  that  at 
sunrise  they  would  drink  muave.  When  the 
sun  rose  they  proceeded  to  the  ordeal  and  the 
cups  were  duly  mixed.  The  wife,  with  a  cunning 
not  suspected  by  the  pliable  husband,  who,  with 
a  faith  in  his  innocence,  was  determined  to  go 
through  with  the  business,  said,  "  You  made 
the  charge,  so  you  shall  drink  first."  He  did 
so,  but  the  wife,  hurling  an  imprecation  at  him, 
refused  to  drink  her  share,  and  fled  to  a  village 
several  miles  away.  The  poor  man,  amid  a 
crowd  of  natives  derisively  cheering  him,  came 

E 


66  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  sought  relief,  which  a  liberal  use  of  sulphate 
of  zinc  and  water  gave  him. 

The  poison  ordeal  is  an  outcome  of  their  belief 
in  the  supernatural.  It  is  an  appeal  to  a  power 
outside  themselves  to  judge  the  case,  reveal  the 
right,  and  punish  the  wrong-doer.  It  is  part  of 
their  religious  system  and  appears  to  them  to  be 
right.  The  witch-doctor  is  to  them  the  visible 
and  accessible  agent  of  the  ancestral  spirits  whom 
they  believe  in  and  worship,  and  from  whom  they 
think  he  derives  his  powers.  If  there  is  a  ten- 
dency to  error  in  what  they  believe,  the  witch- 
doctor by  his  shrewdness  and  making  bad  use  of 
it,  pretending  to  know  more  than  what  will  ever 
be  revealed  to  man,  favoured  the  growth  of  lies, 
and  juggled  with  the  truth  of  things.  The  char- 
acteristics of  the  witch-doctor  are  a  pretended 
superior  knowledge  to  discern  the  affairs  of  in- 
dividuals and  communities,  and  ability  to  hold 
intercourse  with  the  ancestral  spirits.  It  is  not 
a  hereditary  craft  such  as  that  of  other  kinds  of 
doctors,  e.g.  medicine  men  who  have  a  knowledge 
of  herbs,  and  blacksmiths  who  have  the  secrets 
of  working  in  iron.  The  knowledge  of  medicine 
and  handicraft  are  considered  to  be  heirlooms. 
The  witch-doctor  is  supposed  to  be  chosen  by  the 
ancestral  spirits,  by  whom  they  may  communi- 
cate with   the  world.     A   man  who   is   chosen 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  O7 

presents  certain  features  or  symptoms.  He  be- 
comes "possessed"  and  excludes  himself  from 
society.  He  may  have  a  peculiar  sickness,  char- 
acterised by  lowness  of  spirits.  It  may  be  he  is 
the  subject  of  fits  or  has  peculiar  dreams.  When 
he  recovers  from  this  and  again  enters  society  he 
is  looked  upon  with  awe  by  the  ordinary  people. 
He  places  himself  in  the  hands  of  some  old  witch- 
doctor who  tests  his  symptoms  of  "possession," 
and  if  found  good  he  is  instructed  by  him  in 
various  practices.  He  is  not  allowed  to  graduate, 
however,  until  he  has  discovered  some  medicine 
which  is  potent  in  some  way,  and  given  public 
proof  of  his  ability  to  discover  things  secreted  by 
those  assembled  to  test  his  powers.  There  is 
doubtless  a  measure  of  both  self-deception  and 
imposture  in  the  matter.  The  practice  of  the 
witch-doctor  is  closely  connected  with  the  wor- 
ship of  the  ancestral  spirits.  Each  house  has  a 
family  spirit  to  whom  they  sacrifice,  but  no  one 
ever  sacrifices  to  the  spirit  without  first  waiting 
upon  the  itshanusi.  He  pretends  to  have  found 
out  the  reason  for  worship,  and  directs  the  appli- 
cant how  to  proceed. 

Without  asserting  that  it  is  complete,  the 
following  is  a  correct  statement  of  the  religious 
beliefs  of  the  natives.  Although  they  do  not 
worship  God,   it  is  nevertheless  true  that  they 


68  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

have  a  distinct  idea  of  a  supreme  Being.  The 
Ngoni  call  him  Umkurumqango,  and  the  Tonga 
and  Tumbuka  call  him  Chiuta.  It  may  be  that 
the  natives,  from  au  excess  of  reverence  as  much 
as  from  negligence,  have  ceased  to  offer  him 
direct  worship.  They  affirm  that  God  lives :  that 
it  is  He  who  created  all  things,  and  who  giveth 
all  good  things.  The  government  of  the  world 
is  deputed  to  the  spirits  and  among  these  the 
malevolent  spirits  alone  require  to  be  appeased, 
while  the  guardian  spirits  require  to  be  entreated 
for  protection  by  means  of  sacrifices.  I  once  had 
a  long  conversation  on  this  subject  with  a  witch- 
doctor who  was  a  neighbour  for  some  years,  and 
the  sum  of  what  he  said  was,  that  they  believe 
in  God  who  made  them  and  all  things,  but  they 
do  not  know  how  to  worship  Him.  He  is  thought 
of  as  a  great  chief  and  is  living,  but  as  He  has 
the  ancestral  spirits  with  Him  they  are  His 
amaduna  (headmen).  The  reason  why  they 
pray  to  the  amadhlozi  (spirits)  is  that  these, 
having  lived  on  earth,  understand  their  position 
and  wants,  and  can  manage  their  case  with  God. 
When  they  are  well  and  have  plenty,  no  worship 
is  required,  and  in  adversity  and  sickness  they 
pray  to  them.  The  sacrifices  are  offered  to  ap- 
pease the  spirits  when  trouble  comes,  or,  as  when 
building  a  new  village,  to  gain  their  protection. 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  69 

With  such  ideas  native  to  the  mind  of  these 
tribes,  how  is  it  that  the  materialistic  writers  and 
unbelieving  critics  of  Missions  affirm  that  the 
high  moral  and  spiritual  truths  of  Christianity 
cannot  be  grasped  by  them  ?  In  beginning  mis- 
sion work  among  them,  one  is  not  met  by  any- 
thing in  their  mental  or  spiritual  life  which  is  an 
insurmountable  barrier  in  communicating  to  them 
spiritual  truths.  However  erroneously  at  first 
they  may  conceive  the  truths  and  facts  put  be- 
fore them,  they  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  a 
place  for  them  in  their  thoughts.  To  talk  of 
spiritual  things  is  not  to  them  an  absurdity, 
much  less  is  it  impossible  for  them  to  conceive 
that  such  things  may  be.  The  native  lives  con- 
tinually in  an  atmosphere  of  spiritual  things. 
Almost  all  his  customs  are  connected  with  a 
belief  in  a  world  of  spirits.  He  is,  consciously 
or  unconsciously,  always  under  the  power  and  in- 
fluence of  a  spiritual  world.  In  preaching,  we 
have  not  first  to  prove  the  existence  of  God.  He 
never  dreams  of  questioning  that.  We  have  in 
our  instruction  merely  to  unfold  His  character  as 
Creator,  Preserver,  Governor,  and  Father  of  us 
all.  As  He  is  revealed  to  them  they  do  not  ques- 
tion His  sovereignty,  but  bow  to  it.  While  we 
meet  with  many  obstacles  in  their  life  and  thought, 
yet  as  they  are  we  have  in  them  much  that  is  a 


70  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

help — a  basis  on  which  we  may  operate.  How- 
ever dim  their  spiritual  light  may  be,  we  have 
but  to  unfold  truth  to  them  and  it  is  self-evident 
to  their  minds.  No  preparation  by  civilization  is 
required,  as  their  spiritual  instincts  find  in  the 
truth  of  God  what  they  are  crying  out  for.  The 
cry  is  inarticulate  and  unuttered,  save  in  their 
unrest  and  blind  gropings  after  spiritual  things. 

Regarding  the  origin  of  life  and  death,  all 
natives  have  the  story  much  the  same  as  found 
throughout  the  Bantu  tribes,  how  that  in  the  be- 
ginning God  sent  the  chameleon  to  tell  men  that 
they  would  die  but  again  rise.  Afterwards  He 
sent  the  grey  lizard  to  say  that  they  would  die, 
and  dying,  would  not  return.  The  lizard,  being 
a  swift  runner,  came  first,  and  afterwards  the 
chameleon  ;  but  men  said,  "  We  accepted  the 
word  of  the  first,  and  cannot  receive  yours." 
The  natives  hate  the  chameleon,  and  put  snuff 
in  its  mouth  to  kill  it,  because  they  say  it  de- 
layed and  led  to  their  acceptance  of  death. 

They  believe  in  the  presence  of  disembodied 
spirits,  good  and  bad,  having  the  power  to  aff'ect 
men  in  this  world.  Their  sacrifices  to  them,  their 
fear  of  them,  and  their  assigning  sickness  and 
death  to  their  agency,  testify  to  this. 

There  are  different  terms  applied  to  spirits, 
each  of  which  is  explanatory.     The  native  thinks 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  71 

of  the  shade  or  shadow  of  his  departed  friend, 
and  denotes  the  life-principle,  and  the  term  is 
even  applied  to  influence,  prestige,  importance. 
They  use  it  in  reference  to  his  life,  as  when  they 
say,  "  His  shadow  is  still  present "  ;  meaning  that 
though  on  the  point  of  death,  his  spirit  is  still  in 
him.  When  I  began  to  take  photographs,  the 
same  word  was  applied  to  a  man's  photograph, 
and  they  evinced  the  greatest  fear  lest  by  yield- 
ing up  their  spirit  to  me  they  should  die.  I  have 
shown  photographs  of  deceased  persons  known 
to  them,  and  they  invariably  turned  away,  some 
even  running  away  in  fear.  When  a  native 
dreams,  he  believes  he  has  held  converse  with 
the  shade  of  his  friend.  Another  term  applied  to 
spirits  has  reference  to  their  supposed  habit  of 
wandering  about.  The  hut  of  a  deceased  adult 
is  never  pulled  down.  It  is  never  again  used  by 
the  living,  but  is  left  to  fall  to  pieces  when  the 
village  removes  to  another  locality.  They  do  not 
think  the  spirit  always  lives  in  the  hut,  but  they 
think  it  may  return  to  its  former  haunts,  and  so 
the  hut  is  left  standing.  Spirits  are  thought  to 
enter  certain  snakes,  which  consequently  are  never 
killed.  When  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  houses,  they 
are  left  unmolested  ;  and  if  they  enter  huts,  some- 
times food  and  beer  are  laid  down  for  them.  Some 
time  after  a  chief  died,  some  of  his  children  saw 


72  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

a  snake  near  his  grave  close  by  the  hut  in  which 
he  died.  The  cry  of  joy  was  taken  up  by  all  the 
family,  "  Our  father  has  come  back."  There  was 
great  rejoicing,  and  the  family  went  and  spent  a 
night  at  the  grave,  clearing  away  the  grass  and 
rubbish  that  had  accumulated.  They  were  satis- 
fied that  it  was  the  spirit  of  their  father  in  the 
snake. 

If  a  journey  of  importance  is  being  taken,  such 
as  an  army  going  out  to  war,  or  a  man  going  on 
important  business,  a  snake  crossing  the  path  in 
front  is  considered  to  be  an  omen — the  spirit 
giving  warning  against  going  on.  The  army  or 
party  interested  would  not  dream  of  going  farther, 
without  consulting  the  divining-doctor  so  as  to 
learn  the  meaning  of  the  omen. 

Theis  belief  in  spirits  appears  on  many  occa- 
sions. I  have  been  engaging  workers  when  only 
a  few  out  of  a  crowd  could  be  chosen.  It  was 
not  an  uncommon  thing  to  hear  from  the  disap- 
pointed as  they  walked  away,  "  I  have  an  evil 
spirit  to-day,"  meaning  that  luck  went  against 
them,  and  they  were  not  engaged.  A  man  who 
has  perhaps  narrowly  escaped  from  danger  ex- 
claims, "  What  did  they  take  me  for  ? "  meaning 
that  some  inferior  spirit  had  been  caring  for  him, 
and  only  barely  saved  him.  Such  a  definite  and 
operative  belief  in  the  presence   and   power   of 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  73 

spirits  gives  rise  to  their  practice  of  offering 
sacrifices,  which  are  almost  always  propitiatory, 
save  when  a  new  village  is  made.  Hence  their 
religious  exercises  are  called  forth  by  sickness, 
death,  or  disaster.  A  man  speaks  of  a  sacrifice 
as  offered  to  make  the  spirit  pliable  and  obedient 
to  his  request,  and  in  sacrifice  they  offer  cattle, 
or  beer  and  flour. 

Although  the  Tumbuka  are  a  much  more  de- 
graded people  in  morals,  they  are  more  religious 
than  the  Ngoni,  and  are  freer  in  their  sacrifices. 
An  elephant-hunter,  for  example,  when  the  beast 
falls,  always  cuts  out  certain  parts,  and  at  the  foot 
of  a  certain  tree  offers  them  in  sacrifice  to  his 
guardian  spirit.  Their  beliefs  and  worship  are 
essentially  those  of  the  Ngoni,  except  that  they 
have  a  wider  variety  of  objects.  Certain  hills 
are  worshipped,  also  waterfalls,  ancient  trees, 
and  almost  any  object  which  appears  unusual, 
may  to  them  embody  the  spirit  they  worship, 
while  certain  insects,  such  as  the  mantis  religiosa 
are  supposed  to  give  residence  to  an  ancestral 
spirit,  are  not  interfered  with  under  any  circum- 
stances, or  even  handled.  Each  house  has  its 
own  guardian  spirit,  and  the  tribe  worships  the 
spirit  of  a  dead  chief 

The  natives  believe  in  Hades  —  the  region 
below,  where  disembodied  spirits   dwell.     They 


74  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

do  not  speak  of  it  as  a  sensible  locality.  Now 
and  again  women  are  found  wandering  about  the 
country  smeared  with  white  clay  and  fantastically 
dressed,  calling  themselves  "chiefs  of  Hades." 
They  are  greatly  feared  as  being  able  to  turn 
themselves  into  lions,  and  other  ravenous  beasts 
to  devour  any  who  may  not  treat  them  well. 
Hence  their  advent  in  a  village  leads  the  people 
to  give  them  whatever  they  ask,  that  they  may 
go  away  and  leave  them  undisturbed.  There 
is  a  medicine  in  use  as  a  protection  from  lions, 
which  cunning  men  sell  at  a  good  price.  One 
of  the  laro-est  and  most  attentive  meetinss  I 
had  in  the  open  air  was  when,  on  a  Sunday 
morning,  I  came  upon  a  crowd  of  natives 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  submitting  to  be 
anointed  by  a  deceptive  old  man  with  an  oily 
mixture,  which  was  reputed  to  give  protection 
from  the  lions  at  that  time  infesting  the  district. 
At  my  request  he  ceased  his  practice  and  I 
preached  from  the  words  :  "  The  devil  goeth 
about  as  a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour."  Before  the  close  of  the  sermon  the 
old  man  took  his  departure  with  his  oily  mix- 
ture, leaving  me  in  possession  of  the  crowd. 

Much  more  might  be  said  of  the  life  of  the 
people,  but  what  has  been  stated  will  enable  the 
reader  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  soil  into 


NATIVE  CUSTOMS  AND  BELIEFS  75 

which  the  seeds  of  Christian  truth  have  been 
cast,  and  how  great  have  been  the  results. 
Frederic  Harrison's  New  Year  Address  to  the 
Positivist  Society  ten  years  ago  contained  these 
great  swelling  words  of  man's  wisdom  : — "  Mis- 
sionaries and  philanthropists,  however  noble 
might  be  the  character  and  purpose  of  some 
few  among  them,  were  all  really  engaged  .  .  . 
in  plundering  and  enslaving  Africa,  in  crushing, 
demoralising  and  degrading  African  races."  I 
have  but  faintly  touched  upon  the  moral  and 
spiritual,  as  well  as  the  temporal  state  of  the 
natives  as  we  found  them ;  let  the  reader, 
when  he  has  gone  through  the  succeeding 
chapters,  say  for  himself  whether  the  plan  of 
God's  redemption  of  Africa  or  that  of  the 
Positivist  Society  succeeds  best,  and  take  no 
rest  until  all  Africa  receive  the  light  of  God's 
Word. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    STATE    OP   THE    COUNTRY    AND    THE    BEGIN- 
NING  OF   THE    MISSION    WORK 

WHAT  has  been  said  in  the  introduction 
shows  the  position  of  the  work  in  Ngoni- 
land  in  relation  to  the  more  extended  operations 
of  the  Livingstonia  Mission  as  a  whole.  In  the 
history  of  the  Ngoni,  as  given  in  the  previous 
chapters,  we  are  brought  down  to  recent  times, 
and  have  now  to  hurriedly  glance  at  the  state 
of  the  country  produced  by  their  presence  and 
power  in  Nyasaland  at  the  advent  of  the 
Mission. 

Soon  after  the  worK  was  begun  at  Cape 
Maclear,  near  the  south  end  of  Lake  Nyasa, 
it  was  evident  that  if  the  Mission  was  to  be 
established  according  to  the  idea  of  the  pro- 
moters, a  wider  and  healthier  area  must  be 
found.  To  secure  that  different  expeditions 
were  undertaken,  and  it  was  in  connection  with 
these  that   the   full    extent   and   power   of  the 

Nsoni  became  known.     Reference  is  made  here 
76 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  IVORK        77 

to  the  reports  of  these  expeditions  by  Drs 
Stewart  and  Laws,  and  the  late  Mr  James 
Stewart,  to  the  Eoyal  Geographical  Society,  and 
to  the  Committee  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland. 
One  of  the  earliest  references  to  the  power  and 
dominion  of  the  Ngoni,  over  a  wide  area,  was 
made  by  Dr  Stewart  in  the  Free  Church  General 
Assembly  in  1878,  when  he  said,  regarding  the 
position  of  the  newly-formed  Mission  to  Nyasa- 
land,  "  He  had  recommended  a  change  of  site, 
and  preparations  had  been  made  for  carefully 
examining  the  portion  of  the  country  on  the 
western  side  of  the  lake.  There  was  a  certain 
responsibility  in  connection  with  this  recom- 
mendation to  change  the  site.  He  was  willing 
to  face  the  responsibility.  They  had  either  to 
make  a  change  or  let  go  the  original  idea  and 
projection  of  Livingstonia,  and  reduce  the  whole 
to  dwarfish  proportions,  very  different  from  what 
was  at  first  intended.  What  was  urgently  wanted 
was  a  high  and  cool  position  possessing  all  the 
other  qualifications  and  capabilities  of  a  good 
site.  These  he  thought  might  be  got  on  the 
high  lands  to  the  west  side  of  the  lake.  The 
warlike  Ngoni  were  in  possession  of  that  district. 
If  we  could  establish  friendly  relations  with 
them  the  work  would  not  be  difficult." 

Thus  it  was,   twenty  years  ago,  that  in  the 


78  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

providence  of  God,  through  the  contracted  area 
workable  from  Cape  Maclear  as  a  centre,  and  its 
unhealthiness,  the  Mission  was  led  to  interest 
itself  in  the  proud  warriors  of  Ngoniland  far 
away  to  the  north  among  the  high  hills  on  the 
west  side  of  Lake  Nyasa.  The  reputation  for 
war  and  cruelty  which  they  had  wherever  they 
were  known,  made  the  task  of  finding  a  new  site 
anything  but  easy,  notwithstanding  the  hopeful- 
ness of  Dr  Stewart's  report.  The  following  ac- 
count of  what  was  found  during  the  expeditions 
undertaken,  and  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the 
work  in  Ngoniland,  should  be  read  with  interest 
in  view  of  the  now  enormous  field  of  the  Living- 
stonia  Mission,  and  the  wonderful  achievements 
of  the  Gospel  among  many  different  tribes. 

The  Ngoni  at  that  time  dominated  a  tract  of 
country  extending  between  9*30°  and  12°  S. 
lat.  and  from  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Nyasa 
to  31°  E.  long.,  comprising  an  area  of  30,000 
square  miles.  In  this  vast  region  the  principal 
tribes  living  were, — on  the  lake  shore,  the  Tonga, 
Tumbuka,  Henga  and  Nkonde,  while  inland  were 
the  Chewa,  other  divisions  of  the  Tumbuka,  the 
Senga,  Zingwa,  Wiwa,  Bisa,  Nyamwanga,  Wanda 
and  Nyika,  and  other  communities  which  were 
scattered  remnants  of  tribes  already  broken  up 
by  their   arms.     When   it   is  remembered   that 


THE  COUNT Rr  AND  MISSION  WORK        79 

every  year  during  the  dry  season,  which  extends 
from  April  to  November,  the  Ngoni  armies  were 
engaged    in    raiding    expeditions,    sometimes  to 
the  southward  against  the  quiet  and  industrious 
Chewa,    or    down    to    the    lake    shore    against 
the  Tonga,   or  northward  to  the  cattle-keeping 
Nkonde,  or  westward  into  the  land  of  fat  sheep, 
ivory  and  copper  wealth,  going  as  far  as  Bang- 
weolo,  near  the  site  of  Livingstone's  death-scene, 
it  may  be  imagined  that  the  condition  of  these 
people  was  anything  but  happy  or  secure.      I 
have  seen  an  army,  ten  thousand  strong,  issue 
forth  in  June  and   not   return   till    September, 
laden  with  spoil  in  slaves,  cattle  and  ivory,  and 
nearly  every  man  painted  with  white  clay,  de- 
noting  that   he   had  killed  someone.      Around 
Bandawe,   one   of  the  principal  stations  of  the 
Mission,  more  blood  has  been  shed  than  can  be 
related.      The    Tonga,    once    enslaved    by   the 
Ngoni,   but   who   revolted   and    fled,    were  the 
frequent   objects   of  attack.     Ngoni   wars,   not- 
withstanding the  reputed  bravery  of  the  warriors, 
were   not   always    very   straightforward    fights, 
but  were  always  very  bloody  from  the  tactics 
they  pursued.     The   army  would  lie   concealed 
in   the   forest   at   some  distance  from  the  lake 
villages,  and  when  the  sun  was  dipping  behind 
the  hills  it  would  rush  out  and  enter  a  village 


8o  JATONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

at  a  time  when  all  were  congregated  and  en- 
gaged in  the  open  air.  It  was  but  a  rush 
through  the  village,  but  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty- 
men,  women  and  children  were  left  lying  dead, 
and  perhaps  as  many  women  carried  ofiF  captive. 

I  was  at  Bandawe  when  such  an  attack  was 
made  on  a  village  a  few  miles  from  the  station. 
We  were  seated  in  the  verandah  of  the  Mission 
house  in  the  calm,  cool  evening.  The  boys 
boarded  on  the  station  as  Mission  pupils  were 
engaged  in  mirthful  games  near  by.  In  the 
villages  around,  hidden  among  the  banana  groves 
or  rich  undergrowth,  we  could  hear  the  thud  of 
the  pestle  in  the  wooden  mortar  as  the  w^omen, 
with  their  babies  tied  on  their  backs,  were 
employed  preparing  the  flour  for  the  evening 
meal.  The  children  were  heard  in  gleeful  song 
and  dance,  while  the  hum  of  voices  rose  as  the 
men  engaged  in  the  gossip  of  the  hour,  seated 
under  the  village  tree  smoking  their  pipes,  and 
the  sun  sank  amid  a  splendour  of  colour  over  the 
western  hills.  All  betokened  peace  and  happiness. 
Suddenly  a  shrill  cry  was  heard  in  the  distance 
and  it  was  at  once  taken  up  by  those  in  the 
villages,  the  song  and  gentle  hum  of  voices 
giving  place  to  cries  of  fear  and  distress.  Before 
many  minutes  had  elapsed  hundreds  of  frantic 
women     carrying    their     infants,    while     older 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK        8i 

children  ran  frantically  by  their  side,  rushed 
into  the  station  grounds  or  ofif  to  the  caverns 
on  the  rocky  hill  near  the  shore.  The  men 
fled  for  their  arms  and  soon  the  tumult  of 
battle  was  heard.  An  Ngoni  army  had  rushed 
a  village ;  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  evening 
hour  now  gave  place  to  the  wailing  of  women 
and  the  cries  of  children,  as  they  re-entered  their 
villages  to  find  perhaps  several  of  their  friends 
killed  or  carried  away  captive.  On  one  occasion 
such  an  attack  was  made  and  several  women 
were  carried  off".  Some  men  who  had  guns  went 
in  pursuit  and  traced  the  route  of  the  Ngoni  by 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  whom  they  had  slain  on 
the  way,  finding  they  were  not  after  all  worth 
carrying  ofil  Coming  up  to  them  at  a  river 
where  they  were  encamped,  still  having  in  their 
possession  some  women,  they  surprised  them  by 
firing  their  guns.  The  Ngoni  fled,  but  one 
woman,  about  to  become  a  mother  whom  they 
could  not  urge  to  run,  was  speared  to  death 
before  the  eyes  of  her  friends  who  had  come 
to  rescue  her.  I  have  seen  an  infant  with  a 
great  ugly  gash  in  its  little  body  which  was 
made  by  the  spear  that  passed  through  the 
mother  as  she  rushed  off"  in  the  efl*ort  to  escape. 
The  following  is  also  an  authentic  story  of  an 
Ngoni  war  and   butchery  told  by  a  European 


82  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

who  witnessed  the  sight,  and  such  harrowing 
tales  could  be  multiplied  tenfold. 

"  On  Friday,  Nov.  18,  a  band  of  Ngoni 
stealthily  surrounded  the  village  of  Kayune 
which  lies  on  the  lake  shore.  They  had  no 
dispute  with  chief  or  people  ;  their  one  motive 
was  to  spear  men  and  capture  women.  There 
was  no  moonlight  and  darkness  favoured  their 
approach.  Entering  the  village,  which  had  no 
stockade  and  lay  half  hidden  in  banana  groves, 
each  warrior  took  up  his  position  at  the  door  of 
a  hut  and  ordered  the  inmates  to  come  out. 
Every  man  and  boy  was  speared  as  he  rushed 
out  and  the  women  were  caught  and  bound  with 
bark  rope.  In  the  morning  not  a  Nkonde  man 
or  boy  was  in  the  village,  while  three  hundred 
women  and  girls  were  tied  and  crowded  together 
like  so  many  frightened  sheep.  The  Ngoni 
feasted  all  day  on  the  food  and  beer  of  the 
villagers." 

The  sequel  is,  if  possible,  more  horrible.  A 
party  of  traders  at  Karonga,  three  hours'  journey 
distant,  went  out  to  try  and  rescue  the  women 
when  word  of  the  capture  was  received.  The 
party  came  up  on  the  Ngoni  and  fired  upon 
them.  They  were  off  their  guard  and  supposed 
that  a  large  force  had  come  against  them,  and 
they  began  to  spear  their  captives,     The  writer 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK         83 

goes  on  to  say,  "  Then  ensued  a  horrible  scene, — 
women  screaming,  women  wrestling  for  life  with 
armed  savages,  women  and  girls  writhing  in 
blood  on  the  ground."  Eventually  two  hundred 
women  were  rescued.  The  number  killed  in- 
cluded twenty-nine  men,  one  hundred  women, 
thirty-two  girls,  sixteen  boys. 

No  one  can  estimate  the  loss  of  life  in  peaceful 
tribes,  or  measure  the  anguish  and  distress,  not 
to  mention  the  incessant  state  of  fear,  in  which 
these  tribes  lived,  due  to  the  position  and  war 
power  of  the  Ngoni.  When  Dr  Laws  and  Mr 
Stewart  passed  through  the  country  in  1878,  in 
pursuance  of  their  search  for  a  new  site  for  the 
healthy  station  already  referred  to,  they  every- 
where met  with  traces  of  the  Ngoni  power  and 
cruel  wars.  Along  the  lake  shore  they  found 
the  people  compelled  to  live  in  swamps  amid  the 
stench  and  death-dealing  exhalations,  struggling 
for  an  independent  foothold  on  mother-earth, 
in  some  of  which  I  have  had,  in  carrying  on 
medical  and  evangelistic  work  in  that  district,  to 
be  carried  from  door  to  door  on  a  native's  back 
as  the  paths  were  all  under  water,  or  semi-liquid, 
black,  stinking  mud.  In  other  places  they  were 
to  be  found  crowded  together  on  some  neck  of 
land  or  secure  place  surrounded  by  a  triple 
stockade   of  strong   trees.     Dr    Laws  mentions 


§4  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

one  such,  near  what  is  now  Bandawe  station, 
where  the  Chief  Marenga  (who  now  lives  in 
happier  times  in  an  extensive  open  village)  had 
a  triple  stockade  round  his  village,  the  distance 
between  the  stockades  being  from  30  to  60 
yards  and  the  interval  filled  by  growing  jungle. 
At  another  place  it  was  said,  "  The  people  here 
might  be  said  to  be  almost  driven  into  the  lake 
by  their  relentless  foes,  the  Ngoni.  The  stock- 
ades ran  30  yards  into  the  lake  itself,  and  the 
greater  number  of  the  huts  were  actually  built 
on  the  sandy  beach."  Even  as  far  north  as 
Karonga's  at  the  north  end  of  Nyasa,  they  found 
the  dread  of  the  Ngoni  pervading  the  community, 
and  the  old  chief  made  a  present  of  a  young 
bull  and  a  tusk  of  ivory  to  Dr  Stewart  to  induce 
him  to  give  him  medicine  to  fight  the  Ngoni. 
Along  the  lake  shore,  north  of  Bandawe,  the  hills 
dip  down  with  precipitous  sides  almost  into  the 
lake,  and  the  shingly  beach  was  occupied  by 
villages  where  there  was  some  degree  of  safety. 
They  managed  to  barely  exist  by  planting 
patches  of  cassava  where  any  soil  could  be  found 
on  the  crags  above,  the  people  not  daring  to  go 
far  from  their  homes.  In  the  lake,  towards  the 
north  end,  there  are  rocky  islands.  They  are 
huge  accumulations  of  boulders — as  if  they  had 
gradually   grown   out   of  the   water    by   added 


THE  COUNT RT  AND  MISSION  IVORK        85 

masses — on  which  there  was  little  foothold  or 
place  to  make  even  a  hut  such  as  the  natives 
usually  build.  Yet  on  such  islands  scores  of 
poor  Tonga,  Tumbuka  and  Henga,  had  their  only 
sure  place  of  abode.  Driven  off  the  face  of  the 
earth,  as  might  literally  be  affirmed,  they  had  to 
rear  their  families,  cradling  them  in  the  cracks  of 
the  rocks  or  crannies  between  the  boulders,  to 
prevent  their  rolling  off  into  the  water.  The 
only  shelter  afforded  was  by  making  wattled 
shades  over  which  a  few  handfuls  of  grass  were 
laid  to  protect  them  from  rain  and  sun.  When 
they  considered  it  safe  they  would  paddle  their 
canoes  to  the  shore,  and  snatch  a  few  hours'  work 
in  their  patches  of  potatoes  or  cassava  and  betake 
themselves  again  to  their  rocky  home. 

Again,  high  up  on  the  most  inaccessible  parts 
of  mountain  ranges,  the  remnants  of  broken 
tribes,  and  even  whole  tribes,  had  their  dwelling. 
They  had  their  grain-stores  hid  away  in  the 
darkness  of  the  remnants  of  the  great  primeval 
forest  still  met  with  in  the  ravines  on  the 
mountain  sides.  Their  dwellings  were  in  some 
cases  no  more  than  a  hole  scooped  out  on  the 
bare  steep  side  of  the  mountain,  and  a  few 
sticks  pushed  into  the  earth  above  projecting 
over  the  levelled  spot,  with  a  little  grass  over 
them.     The   best   of  them   was   of  the   rudest 


86  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

description,  while  all  around  the  ground  sloped 
so  sharply  that  one  could  not  walk  without 
holding  on  to  objects.  Their  crops  were  peas 
which  they  cultivated  on  the  declivities,  by 
sowing  rows  among  the  bracken  which  they 
left  as  supports,  and  to  prevent  the  soil  from 
being  washed  away  in  the  rainy  season.  The 
ingenuity  of  such  a  people  in  providing  them- 
selves with  the  bare  necessaries  of  life,  could 
scarcely  be  admired  properly,  from  the  sad  feeling 
at  the  thought  of  how  they  had  been  hunted 
and  reduced  to  such  a  condition.  On  the  ap- 
proach of  enemies  they  fled  into  the  dark  forest 
and  had  nature  for  a  guard.  Wherever  on  the 
mountain  slope,  at  Mount  Waller  for  instance, 
space  whereon  to  erect  a  hut  could  be  found  it 
was  utilised.  Lying  on  board  the  steamer  in 
Florence  Bay  with  the  vast  pile  of  that  mountain 
before  us,  the  terraced  slopes  were  seen  to  be 
crowded  with  huts,  a  situation  from  which  no 
Ngoni  army  could  dislodge  them.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  sites  for  human  habitations 
was  found  at  Manchewe  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Mount  Waller  in  1895,  when  Dr  Laws  and 
I  were  examining  the  district  preparatory  to 
founding  the  Livingstonia  Training  Institution. 
On  ledges  of  rock  on  the  face  of  a  cliff"  250 
feet   high,    a   section   of    the   Nyika   tribe   had 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  IVORK        87 

their  homes.  Over  the  cliff,  200  yards  apart, 
two  rivers  poured  their  waters  in  a  series  of 
waterfalls  into  the  wooded  gorge  below.  The 
face  of  the  cliff  was  covered  with  a  profusion  of 
tree  ferns,  magnificent  aloes  in  bloom,  many 
beautiful  ferns  and  other  tropical  plants,  from 
among  which  tall,  graceful  trees  sprang.  A  full 
description  of  such  a  combination  of  natural 
grandeur  of  rock  and  tree  and  waterfall  is  im- 
possible. Here  we  want  merely  to  picture 
human  beings  living  between  earth  and  sky  in 
small  circular  huts,  in  some  cases  built  on  ledges 
of  rock  not  ten  feet  broad,  and  in  other  cases, 
the  houses  being  actually  tied  to  tree  roots 
which  have,  in  growing,  split  the  rocks,  and  in 
some  cases  dislodged  great  masses.  The  over- 
hanging cliffs  and  mighty  trees  above,  with  the 
depths  below,  formed  the  natural  protection  to 
that  poor  hunted  people.  Access  to  the  villages 
was  had  by  scrambling  down  the  fissures  in 
the  rock,  or  by  hanging  on  to  tree  roots  or 
other  projection  which  would  afford  help  and 
safety.  The  clusters  of  huts  were  partly  hid 
by  the  dense  undergrowth,  and  only  those 
guided  by  the  natives  could  have  found  the 
safe  ledges  along  which  to  pass.  Viewed  from 
above  one  was  forcibly  reminded  of  the  home 
of  the  sea-fowls  on  the  cliffs  around  our  coasts. 


88  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

In  no  case  was  the  rocky  ledge  on  which  the 
houses  were  built  more  than  twenty  feet  broad, 
and  it  made  one  shudder  to  look  down  on  the 
little  children  playing  around  the  small  huts, 
with  the  roaring  cataract  at  one  side  and  a 
sheer  precipice  above  and  below.  In  time  of 
war,  or  danger  from  falling  rocks  dislodged  by 
the  rains,  the  caverns  found  near  were  the 
hiding-place  of  these  inhabitants  of  the  rock. 
Their  homes  were  made  seemingly  in  defiance 
of  nature's  great  law  of  gravitation,  —  forced 
over  the  edge  of  the  world,  so  to  speak,  by  the 
inhumanity  of  the  Ngoni.  If  the  Gospel  can 
do  anything  at  all  to  better  men's  lives,  there, 
surely,  we  found  a  fit  field  for  it. 

Great  must  have  been  their  surprise  when 
they  saw  many  of  their  Ngoni  enemies  standing 
on  the  heights  above,  calling  to  them  that  they 
came  on  a  peaceful  errand,  and  inviting  the 
men  up  to  speak  to  us.  We  arrived  on  a 
Saturday  evening,  and  having  made  friendly 
overtures,  we  invited  them  up  to  our  camp  next 
day  to  join  in  the  worship  of  God.  For  the 
first  time  in  their  lives  and  in  that  district,  the 
voice  of  praise  and  prayer  was  heard,  and  these 
wretched  people  heard  in  the  Ngoni  speech  the 
word  of  peace  and  not  of  war.  Surely  that  day 
in  that  place  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled  :  "  Let 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK        89 

the  inhabitants  of  the  rock  sing,  let  them  shout 
from  the  top  of  the  mountains."  There  came 
to  them  that  day  the  dawn  of  a  better  life,  as 
we  shall  see  in  due  course. 

While  such  a  state  of  terror  and  distress  was 
known  to  exist  over  the  country  lying  between 
Ngoniland  and  Lake  Nyasa,  there  remained  the 
vast  country  unexplored,  lying  to  the  west  and 
north  of  Ngoniland,  upon  which  horde  upon 
horde  of  savage  Ngoni  waged  a  relentless  war. 
The  same  state  of  terror  and  distress  obtained 
there,  but  was  known  only  by  the  spoils  brought 
back  by  the  armies.  Mr  John  Moir  in  1879 
made  a  long  journey  into  that  region,  and  every- 
where saw  evidence  of  the  Ngoni  raiding.  Later 
on  several  Europeans  passed  through  the  district, 
and  all  met  with  the  same  story  of  Ngoni  wrong- 
doing and  domination.  Last  year  a  careful 
survey  of  the  district  was  made  by  my  colleague, 
Dr  Prentice,  to  find  out  suitable  localities  for 
new  stations,  and  I  heard  him  relate  in  a  public 
meeting  at  home,  an  incident  which  may  fit- 
tingly find  a  place  here  as  bearing  upon  the  past 
condition  of  the  people  all  over  that  region. 

In  the  course  of  his  journey  he  came  upon 
a  considerable  community  huddled  together  in 
poor  houses,  in  the  centre  of  a  great  swamp, 
through  which  he  could  not  find  a  way.     The 


90  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

village  was  also  strongly  stockaded,  and  it  was 
evident  that  they  had  recently  rebuilt  it.  Find- 
ing it  impossible  to  enter,  he  fortunately  saw 
a  native  who  had  been  at  one  of  our  northern 
Mission  stations,  and  could  understand  what  was 
said,  and  the  object  of  the  expedition.  By  him 
communication  was  had  with  the  people  in  the 
stockaded  village,  and  Dr  Prentice  and  his  Ngoni 
carriers  were  invited  to  enter.  In  conversation 
with  the  affrighted  natives,  the  chief  said  that 
long  ago  they  were  hunted  by  the  Ngoni,  but 
that  in  recent  years  they  had  heard  of  men 
coming  to  them  with  a  book  which  they  had 
accepted,  and  had  consequently  given  up  war. 
Recently,  however,  they  had  heard  that  Mombera 
the  chief  had  died,  and  on  the  placing  of  a  new 
chief  they  feared  that  the  Ngoni  might  again 
break  out,  so  they  had  taken  the  precaution  of 
removing  their  chattels  to  safe  quarters  to  await 
the  attack  which  they  apprehended.  One  of  the 
Ngoni  carriers  thereupon  took  from  his  pocket  a 
copy  of  the  Gospel  in  Ngoni,  and  declared  that 
now  the  Ngoni  had  accepted  the  book,  so  that 
they  need  no  more  fear  an  attack,  and  he  added, 
"  Long  ago  we  came  with  war  to  destroy,  but 
to-day  we  are  one  with  the  white  teacher,  and 
come  to  bring  you  good  news  of  peace  and  salva- 
tion."     To  have  witnessed  such  a  scene  more 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  fVORK        91 

than  repaid  Dr  Prentice's  weariness  and  sickness 
on  his  long  and  trying  march. 

The  only  tribe  that  withstood  the  Ngoni  was 
the  Wemba  to  the  south  of  Tanganyika,  and 
many  and  fierce  were  their  contentions.  The 
picture  of  Ngoni  power  and  incessant  raiding  is 
complete  when  I  add  that,  in  Ngoniland,  there 
are  representatives  of  at  least  sixteen  different 
tribes  found  among  their  slaves,  their  original 
homes  lying  in  the  region  from  what  is  now  the 
Colony  of  Natal  on  the  south,  to  Tanganyika  on 
the  north,  Nyasa  on  the  east,  and  Bangweolo  on 
the  west. 

Such,  then,  was  the  character  and  such  the  re- 
putation of  the  Ngoni,  when  the  Mission  pioneers 
first  met  them.  In  1878,  Dr  Laws  and  the  late 
Mr  James  Stewart  found  a  probable  site  for  the 
new  station  on  Mount  Kaning'ina  on  the  outskirts 
of  Ngoniland,  and  between  it  and  the  lake.  Here 
for  a  time  the  late  William  Koyi  (the  Kafir  mem- 
ber of  the  staff,  to  whose  life  and  work  a  special 
chapter  is  devoted)  and  a  European  were  located 
to  observe  the  nature  of  the  district,  and,  if 
possible,  to  become  acquainted  with  the  Ngoni. 
They  managed  to  form  an  acquaintance  with  a 
Swazi  family — the  Chipatula  family — living  not 
far  off,  and  through  them  obtained  an  intro- 
duction to  Mombera,  the  chief  of  the  Ngoni,  and 


92  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONJ 

to  Mtwaro,  his  brother  and  successor.  The 
Chipatula  family  had  been  at  one  time  strong 
in  power,  and  to  them  belonged  most  of  the 
Tonga  who  revolted  and  fled  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Bandawe  station,  subsequently  chosen 
instead  of  Kaning'ina.  Dr  Laws  realised  the 
nature  and  difficulties  of  the  task  set  him,  al- 
though the  suspicions  of  the  Ngoni  were  aroused 
and  persisted  for  many  years,  by  the  Mission 
having  located  itself  among  the  Tonga  slaves  on 
the  lake  shore,  and  having  for  a  time  occupied  the 
outpost  at  Kaning'ina  as  if  to  set  a  watch  upon 
them.  Yet  the  wisdom  of  the  step,  and  the 
caution  necessary  in  every  movement,  have  been 
fully  justified  in  subsequent  years. 

William  Koyi  had  been  able  to  find  out  the 
Ngoni  centre  of  power,  and  to  be  received  by 
Mombera  in  a  friendly  manner.  Between  Dr 
Laws's  first  and  second  visits  to  Kaning'ina, 
however,  a  rising  took  place  among  the  Tum- 
buka  and  Tonga  slaves  in  Ngoniland,  which 
at  the  time  threatened  to  destroy  all  hope  of 
access  to  the  Ngoni.  They  believed  that  the 
freedom  of  man  which  the  Mission  expedition, 
with  its  retinue  of  native  servants  and  carriers 
belonging  to  different  tribes,  embodied,  had  em- 
boldened their  slaves  to  revolt.  Many  of  the 
Tonga  fled  to  the  lake  shore,  but  the  Tumbuka, 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK        93 

less  successful  in  their  effort  to  escape,  were 
forced  up  Hora  mountain  (where  now  one  of 
our  Ngoniland  stations  is  situated),  and  starved 
into  surrender.  Being  allowed  to  come  down  to 
drink  at  the  fountains  around  the  base  of  that 
bare,  rocky  height,  the  Ngoni  fell  upon  them, 
and  many  hundreds  were  massacred.  I  have 
seen  the  skeletons  lying  crowded  together  around 
the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  also  upon  it,  some  being 
found  in  caverns  and  at  the  foot  of  precipices 
where  they  had  been  slain. 

We  need  not  describe  in  detail  the  transactions 
between  the  Mission  and  the  isolated  workers 
holding  the  outpost  at  Kaning'ina — a  situation 
often  fraught  with  great  personal  danger  through 
the  opposition  of  the  Ngoni  and  the  treachery  of 
the  Chipatulas,  who  all  the  while  pretended  great 
friendship.  The  fact  was,  the  Chipatulas  were 
diminished  in  power  and  influence  among  the 
Ngoni,  and  hoped,  by  means  of  friendship  with 
the  white  men,  to  regain  their  power.  An  ex- 
ample of  their  duplicity  we  find  in  the  statement 
of  the  dead  chief,  Chipatula's  brother,  when  Dr 
Laws  first  met  him.  He  was  asked  about  the 
chief,  and  his  reply  was  that  the  chief  was  dead, 
and  that  until  he  (Chisevi,  the  speaker)  should 
go  out  of  mourning  and  be  crowned,  Mombera, 
a  headman,  was  ruling,  whereas  at  that  time  the 


94  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

chief  over  all  the  country  was  Mombera,  and  the 
Chipatula  family  were  ordinary  members  of  the 
tribe. 

In  1879  Dr  Laws  first  met  Mombera.  Ever 
since  then  Mombera  shewed  a  strong  affection  for 
Dr  Laws  and  unbounded  confidence  in  him,  and 
through  him  as  "  the  father  of  the  white  men," 
in  those  who  followed  him  and  lived  under  him. 
The  only  parallel  to  this  mutual  regard  which  I 
know  is  in  the  case  of  Moffat  and  Umziligazi,  the 
confrere  of  Mombera's  father  in  the  far  south 
in  the  beginning  of  the  century,  as  recorded  in 
"Kobert  and  Mary  Moffat."  Here  we  have  two 
bloodthirsty,  despotic  chiefs,  far  apart  but  of  the 
same  blood,  visited  by  two  missionaries  of  the 
Cross,  and  without  in  the  least  degree  to  all  ap- 
pearance accepting  any  of  their  teaching,  forming 
a  strong  attachment  to  them,  and  till  death  main- 
taining it,  and  speaking  often  of  it.  Living,  as  I 
did,  with  Mombera  for  six  years  before  he  died, 
I  never  knew  of  his  having  stopped  a  single  war 
party  from  attacking  the  helpless  Tonga  around 
Dr  Laws's  station  at  Bandawe  because  of  his  be- 
lief in  God ;  but  over  and  over  again,  because  of 
his  attachment  to  Dr  Laws,  he  refused  to  sanction 
war  ;  and  to-day  thousands  of  Tonga  men  and 
women  owe  their  life  to  Mombera's  affection  for 
Dr  Laws.     Happy,  indeed,  must  he  be  who  was 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK        95 

thus  used  of  God  in  saving  the  lives  of  so  many 
people,  that  they  might,  as  they  now  do,  hear 
and  receive  God's  Word. 

But  to  proceed  with  the  narrative.  On  the 
24th  January  1879  Dr  Laws  arrived  at  Mombera's 
town  and  pitched  his  tent.  Of  his  interview  with 
Mombera,  he  reported :  *'  We  explained  to  him 
that  the  object  of  our  coming  into  the  country 
was  to  be  friends  of  all  the  people,  to  teach  them 
about  God  and  what  He  has  done  for  us ;  that 
we  also  wished  to  teach  children,  so  that  they 
might  be  able  to  read  God's  Word  for  themselves. 
We  showed  them  a  Kafir  Bible,  from  which 
William  Koyi  read  a  few  verses.  We  introduced. 
Mr  Moir  as  one  who  was  ready  to  trade  with 
them  if  they  desired  to  do  so,  and  who  loved 
God's  Word  as  we  did.  We  gave  Mombera  a 
present  of  various  articles,  with  which  he  ex- 
pressed himself  very  much  satisfied.  The  head 
councillor  of  the  village  answered  for  him  that 
they  were  glad  of  our  visit,  and  that  they  were 
willing  to  be  friends,  and  thanked  us  for  our 
present.  They  expressed  their  disappointment 
that  we  should  remain  among  the  Tonga  on  the 
Lake  shore,  or  even  at  Kaning'ina.  *  Why/  said 
they,  '  do  you  not  come  up  and  live  witli  us  ? 
Can  you  milk  fish  that  you  remain  at  the  Lake  ? 
Come  up  and  live  with  us  and  we  will  give  you 


96  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

cattle.  We  are  the  rulers  ;  the  Tonga  are  under 
us,  although  they  have  broken  off  from  us  at  pre- 
sent, and  run  away  with  our  children  ;  we  wish 
you  to  make  them  send  back  our  children.  They 
say  they  do  not  like  to  live  with  us  because  we 
are  cruel.  We  are  cruel,  but  not  to  our  children, 
only  to  those  against  whom  we  go  to  fight.  Our 
children  we  must  have  back,  and  we  would  have 
gone  and  fought  with  the  Tonga,  and  driven  them 
into  the  Lake,  had  you  not  visited  us  and  said 
war  was  bad.  We  have  been  defeated  ;  but  when 
we  set  about  fighting,  we  do  not  give  up  our 
object,  though  the  last  Ngoni  should  be  killed. 
You  say  there  should  be  peace ;  send  back  our 
children  and  there  will  be  lasting  peace.' 

"  We  explained  to  them  that  our  commission 
was  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  to  the 
despised  Tonga  as  well  as  to  the  Ngoni  them- 
selves ;  that  we  required  to  have  a  port  on  the 
Lake,  so  that  we  might  get  a  supply  of  provisions, 
calico,  etc.,  from  home,  and  this  we  could  not 
have  if  we  were  living  with  them  while  the 
Tonga  between  us  and  the  Lake  shore  were  our 
enemies ;  that  we  showed  our  desire  to  benefit 
them  by  not  confining  ourselves  to  the  Lake 
shore  alone,  but  establishing  a  station  at  Kaning'- 
ina,  near  Chipatula,  where  they  could  easily 
learn  about  us  at  any  time,  and  have  the  false 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK        97 

reports  they  heard  about  us  from  the  Tonga 
rectified  by  a  visit.  Regarding  the  sending  back 
of  their  children  we  explained  that  we  had  not 
come  to  interfere  with  their  quarrels,  but  that 
we  were  willing  to  do  what  we  could  as  peace- 
makers, and  advised  that  they  should  have 
patience  and  live  in  peace,  as  the  best  way  of 
having  their  children  brought  back  to  them ; 
and  this  we  considered  it  to  be  their  duty  to 
do,  seeing  that  the  Ngoni  had  been  the  original 
invaders  of  the  country  and  the  disturbers  of  the 
peace.  They  asked  that,  if  a  white  man  could 
not  be  left  there,  one  of  their  own  tribe  should 
be  sent  to  them.  We  told  them  that  in  course 
of  time  we  would  endeavour  to  send  a  teacher  to 
them  also.  The  chief  sent  us  a  small  elephant's 
tusk  as  a  present,  and  sent  a  calf  to  our  tent  as 
food.  He  also  sent  a  small  tusk  which  he  said 
he  had  intended  as  a  present  on  our  first  visit." 

On  a  subsequent  visit  paid  to  Mombera  by  Mr 
Stewart,  he  refused  to  see  him,  being  displeased 
that  the  Mission  should  have  visited  other  tribes 
first.  It  was  evident  that  the  Ngoni  desired  an 
exclusive  alliance  with  the  Mission,  and,  as  will 
afterwards  be  seen,  this  idea  led  to  frequent 
trouble,  at  times  great  and  prolonged.  In  the 
end  of  that  year  Kaning'ina  observing  station 
was  given  up  and  Bnndawe  founded.     Dr  Laws 

G 


98  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

very  properly  gauged  the  situation  when  he 
wrote  in  October :  "  I  do  not  think  it  would  be 
advisable  to  continue  the  station  in  that  district 
meantime.  More  good  could  be  done  by  pushing 
it  forward  into  the  country  of  the  Ngoni." 

Two  years  elapsed  before  this  could  be  accom- 
plished, during  which  time  all  round  Bandawe 
station  Ngoni  raiding  went  on.  These  raiding 
parties  did  not  always  represent  Mombera's  army, 
but  were  bands  of  wild  youths  who  were  eager 
to  obtain  wealth,  or  wives  and  slaves,  and 
frequently  were  led  by  members  of  the  villages 
which  they  attacked,  and  who  to  revenge  some 
wrong  done  by  their  chief  went  up  to  the  Ngoni 
and  formed  a  league  with  them.  Reading 
through  the  journals  of  Bandawe  station  in 
those  days  we  continually  meet  with  references 
to  Ngoni  raids  on  the  surrounding  villages,  and 
the  continued  unrest  of  the  Tonga,  which  ren- 
dered the  work  of  the  Mission  futile,  and  created 
difficulties  and  dangers  in  living  among  them, 
as  they  clamoured  for  Dr  Laws  and  the  Mission 
party  to  join  them  in  fighting  the  Ngoni.  It 
was  no  easy  task  to  live  among  them  and  declare 
inability  to  help  them  in  righting  their  wrongs, 
and  to  have  the  nature  of  the  work  misjudged, 
by  expecting  and  demanding  temporal  good  by 
force  of  arms. 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK        99 

For  example,  on  November  17th,  1881,  the 
following  entry  occurs  :  *'  Chikoko  came  to-day 
asking  about  the  Ngoni  and  what  was  to  be 
done.  He  described  them  as  a  wild  beast,  and 
said,  'You  cannot  hold  discussion  with  a  wild 
beast,  you  must  go  to  him  with  a  gun.  The 
Ngoni  are  like  a  snake,  we,  like  a  frog.  When 
a  frog  sees  a  snake  he  goes  off  hop,  hop, 
hop,  to  save  himself.  That  is  how  we  do, 
and  the  people  are  leaving  their  villages  and 
coming  to  the  beach  all  round.'  He  asked  for 
guns  and  powder.  This  Dr  Laws  at  once  re- 
fused to  give  him,  and  told  him  we  had  no 
intention  of  fighting  with  the  Ngoni.  We 
brought  the  Gospel  to  the  Tonga,  and  meant 
to  take  it  to  the  Ngoni,  and  if  we  fought  with 
them  it  was  not  likely  they  would  be  willing 
to  receive  it.  '  But,'  said  Chikoko,  '  they  will 
kill  you,  and  destroy  your  goods.'  Let  them 
destroy  them  if  need  be — God  will  protect  us." 

"  Tuesday,  Dec.  6.  In  the  morning  a  report 
reached  us  that  a  party  of  Ngoni  had  made  a 
descent  on  the  Matete  valley  and  had  killed  five 
men  (three  by  another  report),  and  had  made 
misasa  on  the  east  side  of  the  stream.  In  the 
forenoon  Chikoko,  Chimbano,  Katonga,  Marenga, 
Mpimbi,  Marengasanga,  and  other  chiefs  assem- 
bled, wishing  to  have   a  consultation  with  Dr 


lOO  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

Laws.  Dr  L.,  S.,  and  ]\rC.  heard  tliem.  They 
said  the  Ngoni  had  come  down  bringing  a  man 
who  had  come  from  Matete,  having  made  a 
narrow  escape  from  the  hands  of  the  Ngoni  who 
had  surprised  him  and  his  companions  while  at 
work  in  their  gardens.  The  chiefs  asked  Dr  L. 
what  they  should  do.  Dr  L.  reminded  them 
that  it  was  not  his  work  to  settle  their  disputes, 
and  that  they  must  consider  with  themselves 
what  they  should  do,  and  do  as  if  there  were  no 
English  here.  But  before,  Dr  L.  was  willing  to 
go  and  speak  with  the  Ngoni,  would  he  not  go 
to  Matete  to-day  and  see  them  ?  Dr  L.  replied 
that  that  last  time  when  he  was  ready  to  go  no 
one  knew  exactly  where  the  Ngoni  were,  and 
to-day  he  was  busy  with  other  work.  Dr  L. 
thought  it  very  probable  that  should  he  go  he 
might  be  accompanied  by  a  great  many  more 
than  he  would  desire,  and  that  they  would  be 
anxious  to  begin  a  fight  with  the  Ngoni  in  which 
he  would  be  implicated.  Chimbano  said  that 
they  were  now  hearing  God's  Word  and  obeying 
it :  that  we  had  told  them  war  was  bad,  and  that 
they  should  not  sell  people.  They  did  not  want 
to  fight  but  live  in  peace,  and  here  were  the 
Ngoni  coming  and  killing  them,  if  Dr  L.  waited 
till  the  steamer  came  with  those  whom  he  ex- 
pected to  go  on  to  Mombera's,  they  would  all  be 


THE  COUNTRY  AND  MISSION  WORK       loi 

killed,  and  the  white  man  did  not  want  to  live 
in  the  wilderness  without  them.  As  for  the 
Ngoni,  they  were  too  wicked  to  receive  God's 
Word.  All  the  villages  of  the  Tonga  for  many 
miles  north  and  south  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
Ngoni,  only  Chintechi  remained — Mankambira 
and  Kang'oma  had  sold  some  of  their  people  for 
guns,  and  now  they  were  able  to  repulse  the 
Ngoni,  so  they  had  better  do  the  same. 

"  Dr  Laws  reminded  them  that  a  few  months 
ago  Chimbano  had  gone  and  made  war  on  Man- 
kambira when  told  he  was  doing  wrong,  and  that 
such  was  a  strange  way  of  obeying  God's  Word,  and 
if  he  chose  to  sell  his  people  for  guns,  the  mrandu 
would  be  between  God  and  him.  Dr  L.  further 
said,  *  You  want  us  to  go  and  fight  the  Ngoni.' 
Yes,  that  was  the  very  thing.  Well  we  are  not 
going  to  do  it,  we  have  told  you  so  before,  and 
we  tell  you  so  again.  W^hen  we  came  here  we 
told  you  we  were  not  to  take  part  in  any  of  your 
quarrels  and  fight  for  one  side  or  the  other.  We 
have  orders  to  this  efi"ect  from  home,  and  Christ 
has  commanded  His  Word  to  be  taken  to  all 
nations.  We  went  before  to  Mombera  and  made 
friends  with  him.  We  do  not  wish  to  fight 
against  him,  nor  against  you,  but  to  teach  all. 
The  Ngoni  have  received  the  Word  of  God  in 
the  south  and  may  do  so  on  the  hills  here,  but  it 


I02  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

is  not  likely  they  will  receive  us  with  it  if  we 
fight  with  them  here.'  There  was  a  good  deal 
more  talk  to  the  same  effect,  but  not  being  able 
to  change  our  intention  they  showed  their  spite 
by  calling  off  all  their  people  at  work  on  the 
station,  and  issuing  orders  that  the  first  one 
found  working  with  the  English  was  to  have 
his  house  burned  down.  In  the  afternoon  only 
two  or  three  of  the  Chewa  and  Tumbuka  tribes 
were  found  working.  In  the  evening  many 
people  assembled,  armed,  and  marched  by  moon- 
light towards  Matete.  Last  night  a  watch  was 
set  and  two  men  were  detected  in  an  attempt 
to  open  the  byre  and  fled.  The  watch  set 
again  to-night  as  Tonga  movements  might  be 
as  hurtful  as  Ngoni  ones." 

The  next  approach  to  Mombera  and  the  Ngoni 
occurred  as  described  in  the  following  entries  in 
the  Bandawe  Journal : — 

"Tuesday,  Jan.  10th,  1882.  To-day  William 
Koyi  with  Albert  and  Jodi  and  carriers  of  goods 
started  for  the  hills  to  visit  Mombera,  going  first 
to  the  village  of  the  Chipatula  family." 

"Jan.  25th.  Albert  returned  from  the  hills 
to-day,  bringing  a  letter  from  WHliam  Koyi. 
They  report  great  scarcity  of  food  among  the 
Ngoni.  .  .  .  William  Koyi  has  not  yet  seen 
Mombera,  but  he  has  had  communication  with 


THE  COUNTRT  AND  MISSION  WORK       103 

Ng'onomo.     Many  of  the  people  were  favourable 
to  us  but  many  were  inclined  to  show  hostility." 

A  temporary  peace  between  the  Ngoni  and 
Tonga  was  at  this  time  established.  William 
Koyi  took  possession  of  Ngoniland  for  Christ, 
and  inaugurated  a  long  period  of  waiting  ere 
the  chief  and  his  headmen  permitted  the  work 
to  be  fully  carried  on.  Dr  Laws  also  visited 
Mombera  that  year,  and  again  in  1883,  but 
despite  earnest  entreaties  no  permission  could 
be  got  to  open  schools,  and  in  Chipatula's  village 
alone  was  preaching  allowed.  In  the  end  of 
1883  the  Ngoni  broke  the  peace  they  had  agreed 
to,  and  attacked  Fuka's  village  near  the  Bandawe 
station,  and  burned  down  the  Mission  school 
which  had   been   erected  there. 

Such  were  the  Ngoni  and  their  neighbours  at 
that  time.  War,  bloodshed,  famine  and  death, 
with  untold  misery  among  those  spared,  was 
the  condition  of  countless  thousands  over  the 
region  raided  by  the  Ngoni.  But  a  great  forward 
movement  had  begun  in  the  Livingstonia  Mission, 
by  the  building  of  a  wattle-and-daub  hut  near 
Mombera's  head  village  with  the  determination 
to  stay  until  expelled,  full  of  faith  that  one  day 
the  Gospel  would  win  its  way  among  the  people 
and  become  the  bond  of  unity  between  bond 
and   free,  raider  and  raided,  in  Ngoniland,  and 


I04  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

in  the  regions  beyond.     In  tlie  end  of  1882,  Dr 
Laws  wrote  about  it : — 

"Aug.  30,  1882.  William  Koyi  is  doing  a 
noble  work  among  the  Ngoni  which  no  European 
could  have  accomplished.  The  people  are  jealous 
and  conservative  in  the  extreme,  and  by  no 
means  ready  to  credit  disinterested  motives  in 
others.  William,  by  living  among  them,  has 
already  to  a  great  extent  disarmed  their  sus- 
picions. He  is  respected  by  all,  and  I  think 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  Mombera,  the  head 
chief  General  liberty  has  not  yet  been  accorded 
to  us  to  preach,  but  public  opinion  is  rapidly 
moving  in  that  direction,  and  it  only  awaits 
the  decision  of  one  or  two  of  the  head  men  of 
the  tribe  to  make  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land  free  to  the  Gospel.  Schools  are  at 
present  prohibited,  but  even  with  regard  to 
this  a  change  is  coming  over  the  people  so 
that  liberty  to  teach  the  children  may  next  be 
expected.  Much  hard  work  will  have  to  be 
done,  but  that  is  nothing,  if  the  tribe  can  be 
won  for  our  Lord.  The  necessary  basis  of  the 
work  is  the  good-will  of  the  people,  and  I  think 
this  foundation  is  being  surely  laid. 


CHAPTER  V 

FIRST    VISIT    TO   MOMBERA 

CAPTAIN  BURTON  says,  "It  is  always  a 
pleasure,  after  travelling  through  the  semi- 
repul)lican  tribes  of  Africa,  to  arrive  at  the  head- 
quarters of  a  strong  and  sanguinary  despotism." 
Only  those  who  have  lived  in  Africa  can  under- 
stand how  it  is  so.  Journeying  inland  from 
Quilimane,  I  passed  the  then  powerful  Mat- 
shiujiri  tribe  at  war  with  the  Portuguese  on  the 
Shire  river,  and  met  a  detachment  of  their 
army  under  the  famous  Raposo,  a  man  of 
great  dignity  and  valour.  Further  on  I  passed 
through  the  Makololo  remnants  of  Livingstone's 
caravan,  established  as  the  powerful  chiefs  on 
the  Shire  river.  These  were  fine  specimens  of 
humanity  and  raised  one's  enthusiasm  for  work 
in  Africa  among  such  noble  people.  Getting  up 
to  the  highlands  above  the  Shire,  and  meeting 
with  the  very  mixed  people,  "  a  people  scattered 
and  peeled,"  it  became  at  once  evident  that  slavery 
and  war  had  crushed  the  spirit  of  the  remnants  of 


io6  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

Yao  and  Mang'anja  peoples  living  there.  Every 
tenth  man  one  met  might  be  set  down  as  a  chief, 
and  the  usual  results  of  a  few  people  and  many- 
chiefs  were  very  evident.  The  life  of  the  people 
seemed  to  consist  in  a  talking  mirandu.  Petty 
quarrels  of  petty  chiefs  were  abundant,  and  those 
Europeans  who  had  people  living  on  their  ground 
were  oppressed  by  their  attempts  to  settle  their 
quarrels.  It  was  a  thankless  business,  certainly, 
where  the  people  delight  in  talking,  and  can  con- 
veniently keep  the  questions  open  over  many 
years  and  even  for  generations.  For  such  people 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  which  have  come  to 
them  in  recent  years  is  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment has  become  their  chief  and  united  all. 

Further  on  one  was  able  to  find  at  Mponda's  a 
powerful  chief,  and  from  a  native  point  of  view  a 
happy  and  prosperous  people.  Around  Bandawe, 
again,  almost  every  village  had  a  distinct  chief, 
and  as  one  of  these  was  sure  to  be  trying  to  be- 
come paramount,  petty  quarrels  and  wars  were 
common.  Though  all  were  of  one  tribe  in  reality, 
there  was  no  union  among  them,  even  against 
their  common  foe,  the  Ngoni.  Had  the  mission- 
aries engaged  to  settle  disputes  no  other  work 
could  have  been  done  ;  they  wisely  espoused 
no  one's  cause,  but  remained  the  friends  of  all, 
had  access  to  all,   and   saved  disaster  to  their 


FIRST  VISIT  TO  MOMBERA  107 

work.  The  bane  of  the  district  was  the  multi- 
tude of  petty  chiefs,  and  they  were  thus  an  easy 
prey  to  the  ravages  of  the  Ngoni  war  parties. 

But  it  was  when  1  came  into  Ngoniland  that 
something  like  Burton's  feelings  were  experienced. 
The  great  expanse  of  country — hills  and  valleys 
and  plains — dotted  over  with  numberless  villages 
built  without  regard  to  safety  from  attack,  but 
located  where  the  best  gardens  and  pasturage 
were  to  be  had,  made  one  realise  that  here  was  a 
people  powerful  and  free,  whom  to  settle  among, 
and  win  for  Christ,  was  a  work  worthy  a  man's 
life.  Elsewhere  I  saw  the  people  huddled  to- 
gether in  small,  dirty,  stockaded  villages,  the  sites 
of  which  were  frequently  found  to  be  surrounded 
by  marshes  in  order  to  give  protection  with  the 
least  amount  of  work  on  fortifications,  and  the 
people  of  one  village  ready  to  make  war  on  the 
next  village  a  few  yards  ofi".  But  here  in  Ngoni- 
land there  was  one  royal  residence,  one  ruler  and 
he  in  touch  by  means  of  the  head-men  in  the 
difi'erent  parts  of  the  tribe,  with  all  the  people 
under  him.  Standing  on  the  hills  on  the  eastern 
boundary  of  Ngoniland,  and  having  pointed  out 
to  me  the  various  sections  of  the  tribe  all  under 
the  one  chief,  Mombera,  I  remembered  the  remark 
of  a  member  of  committee  when  I  was  leaving 
home.    He  said  :  "  If  you  have  faith  and  patience 


io8  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

to  work  aDcl  win  the  Ngoni,  you  are  going  to  the 
finest  field  in  Livingstonia."  The  full  truth  of 
that  remark  is  only  now  becoming  evident. 

But  now  to  my  introduction  to  the  chief  and 
his  advisers  and  head-men.  No  one  who  has 
visited  Mombera  at  his  home  will  forget  the  dis- 
comfort of  the  ordeal.  I  had  been  duly  warned 
as  to  his  piercing  gaze ;  his  questions  as  to  age, 
family,  and  whether  married  or  single ;  his  criti- 
cisms of  one's  personal  appearance ;  and,  what 
would  never  be  wanting,  his  barefaced  begging 
for  whatever  he  might  fancy  at  the  time.  So, 
to  have  the  ordeal  past,  I  set  out  with  Messrs 
Koyi  and  Sutherland  to  visit  Mombera.  He  was 
not  in  his  customary  place  in  the  cattle  kraal, 
but  we  found  him  in  the  small  house  where  he 
received  visitors  and  heard  cases  pleaded  when 
he  was  either  too  drunk  or  disinclined  to  go  to 
the  kraal.  The  hut  was  enclosed  by  a  neat  reed 
fence,  the  space  within  being  smoothly  beaten 
down  and  scrupulously  clean.  Here  we  found 
several  parties,  who  were  no  doubt  waiting  to 
plead  some  case  before  him,  and  not  a  few 
hangers-on  looking  for  the  crumbs  which  might 
fall  to  their  lot  when  the  beef  and  beer  on  which 
Mombera  subsisted  were  brought  in.  Having 
taken  a  present  for  him,  1  found  that  several 
of  his  wives  were  attracted  to  the  place  in  hope 


FIRST  VISIT  TO  MOMBERA  109 

of  sharing  the  same  with  their  lord.  No  sooner 
had  they  seated  themselves  and  saluted  the 
stranger,  than  a  loud  voice,  half  angrily,  half 
jokingly,  asked  them  what  they  wanted,  and 
ordered  them  to  be  gone.  Mombera,  with  nearly 
thirty  wives,  evidently  had  not  a  plethora  of  de- 
votion for  them.  He  said,  "  You  have  seen  the 
white  man  with  his  bundle,  and  you  come  here 
expecting  something.  I  am  here  every  day,  but 
you  leave  me  alone  if  there  are  no  goods  to 
divide." 

When  we  had  been  invited  to  enter  the  hut, 
we  did  so  by  going  down  on  our  knees  and 
crawling  in  through  the  doorway,  which  was 
only  a  couple  of  feet  high  and  about  the  same 
in  width.  As  each  entered,  the  royal  salute  had 
to  be  given  by  raising  the  voice,  and  saying, 
"  Bayete."  The  joker  of  our  party,  who  was 
evidently  on  very  familiar  terms  with  Mombera, 
shouted,  "Be  quiet,"  which  was  not  objected  to. 
On  entering  the  hut,  it  was  some  time  before  the 
eyes  became  familiar  with  the  semi-darkness,  and 
then  what  one  saw  did  not  betoken  much  splendour 
of  royalty.  The  hut  was  a  round,  low-roofed  erec- 
tion, with  a  well-laid  and  polished  floor  of  clay. 
In  the  centre  a  round  depression  in  the  floor  con- 
tained the  fire  composed  of  logs  of  wood.  To  the 
right  of  the  doorway,  on  a  reed  mat,  sat  Mombera 


no  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

himself.  Beside  him  was  a  huge  pot  of  beer,  with 
a  calabash  ladle,  over  which  one  of  his  wives  pre- 
sided, and  tempered  the  beer  with  hot  water.  A 
smaller  pot,  made  of  grass  deftly  woven  so  as  to 
be  quite  water-tight,  was  held  by  Mombera,  who 
took  frequent  draughts,  and  sometimes  handed  it 
round  to  the  people  in  his  presence.  If  he  did 
so,  or  rose  from  his  mat,  all  shouted,  "Bayete." 
When  he  received  back  the  pot,  or  came  in  and 
sat  down,  the  company  shouted,  "Bayete."  If 
one  rose  to  go  to  another  part  of  the  hut,  or  to 
leave  the  royal  presence,  he  shouted,  "  Bayete." 

To  describe  the  royal  dress  is  not  a  difficult 
matter.  The  chief  part  of  Mombera's  dress  was 
the  numerous  beautiful  ivory  rings  which  he  wore 
on  his  arms,  and  the  rings  of  plaited  brass  wire 
on  his  legs.  In  his  ears  he  wore  the  usual  heavy 
knobs  of  ivory,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter,  and  his  clothing  was  completed  by  a 
few  yards  of  coloured  calico,  carelessly  thrown 
over  his  limbs  as  he  sat,  consuming  his  beer  or 
talking  over  the  cases  brought  to  him  for  judg- 
ment. When  not  in  state  at  home,  his  clothing 
consisted  usually  of  his  leg  and  arm  ornaments. 

It  was  to  a  new-comer  a  strange  and  trying 
ordeal  to  have  to  sit  and  be  stared  at  by 
Mombera's  one  eye  visible  over  the  beer-pot; 
to  know  that  his  remarks  about  one's  appearance 


FIRST  VISIT  TO  MOMBERA  1 1 1 

were  causing  amusement  to  all  in  the  hut,  and 
not  to  be  able  to  speak,  or,  indeed,  to  have  per- 
mission to  speak ;  for  until  one  has  been  greeted 
by  the  chief,  he  must  be  silent.  It  was  the 
custom  for  the  chief  to  refrain  from  greeting 
one  for  some  fifteen  minutes  after  he  came  into 
his  presence.  This  was  considered  the  best  wel- 
come to  give,  and  however  trying  to  one's  patience, 
it  had  to  be  borne.  On  one  occasion,  when  my 
wife  and  I  had  gone  to  visit  a  head-man  by  in- 
vitation, we  were  kept  sitting  at  the  kraal  gate 
for  over  an  hour  before  he  came  to  greet  us,  and 
point  out  a  place  whereon  to  pitch  the  tent.  I 
knew  it  was  the  custom  to  delay  thus,  and  on 
speaking  about  it  to  our  host,  he  said,  "  Why 
should  I  be  in  a  hurry  when  you  come  to  stay  ? 
If  a  man  comes  to  your  house,  and  you  instantly 
say,  '  Good-morning,'  that  would  mean,  '  We  have 
only  hunger  here,  so  I  need  not  delay  you.  You 
may  go.' " 

The  Ngoni  salutation  is  "  Tikuwona,"  "  we  see 
you,"  a  slight  variation  from  the  Zulu  which  is, 
"  We  saw  you."  When  Mombera  had  greeted 
us  thus,  all  in  the  hut  were  then  free  to  do  so 
too,  and  one  after  another  did  so  in  a  graceful 
manner,  and  to  each  the  proper  reply  was 
"Yebo,"  signifying  "Yes."  Immediately  the 
tongues  were  loosened  and  Mombera  plied  his 


112  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

enquiries,  and  passed  his  judgment  on  me.  Com- 
parisons were  made  between  Mr  Sutherland  and 
myself, — who  was  the  elder,  were  we  brothers, 
why  had  we  straight  hair  of  the  same  colour, 
when  did  we  come  out  of  the  sea?  for  the  natives 
thought  the  white  men  were  spirits  who  had  left 
their  proper  dwelling  in  the  water  to  come  and 
trouble  the  people.  When  a  convenient  oppor- 
tunity could  be  got,  Mr  Koyi  informed  the  chief 
who  I  was,  and  that  I  had  come  to  ask  per- 
mission to  stay  in  the  country  to  teach  the 
people  the  Word  of  God,  and,  being  a  doctor, 
that  I  would  attend  to  all  who  sought  help  and 
medicine. 

On  this  an  old  toothless  man,  who  may  be 
called  the  chiefs  mouth,  repeated  Mr  Koyi's 
statement  to  the  chief  Then  the  chief  replied 
and  his  words  were  taken  up  by  the  "  mouth " 
and  repeated  to  Mr  Koyi.  They  were  to  the 
ejBfect  that  he  himself  was  only  the  chief  and 
the  country  did  not  belong  to  him  but  to  the 
people.  If  his  head-men  agreed  to  my  staying 
among  them  he  would  be  very  glad  and  would 
not  offer  any  objections.  He  was  thereupon 
thanked  for  his  words  and  requested  to  call 
together  his  counsellors  so  that  I  might  meet 
them  and  get  their  permission  to  stay.  This 
he  promised  to  do  at  an  early  date. 


FIRST  VISIT  TO  MOMBERA  113 

On  his  rising  to  leave  the  hut  all  shouted 
"  Bayete,"  and  when  he  was  outside  a  rush  was 
made  by  those  present  for  the  beer-pot,  and  a 
hearty  draught  was  taken.  When  Mombera 
entered  he  accused  them  of  havinsf  drunk  his 
beer,  but  no  one  of  course  had  touched  it — who 
indeed  would  dare  to  touch  the  chiefs  beer,  and 
who  of  those  present  had  need  to  steal,  when  they 
were  already  bursting  with  what  he  had  so  freely 
given  %  The  one  predominant  feature  in  native 
life  is  the  flattery  and  insincerity  of  the  people. 
In  the  chief's  presence  it  reaches  a  climax. 

The  present  for  Mombera  consisted  of  some 
coloured  calico,  brass  wire,  beads,  and  a  few 
trinkets  such  as  would  please  children  at  home. 
He  looked  at  it  and  demanded  a  kind  of  bead 
of  which  we  had  none.  With  the  most  bare- 
faced impertinence  and  incivility,  he  replied 
saying  he  would  not  like  to  insult  the  new 
white  man  by  refusing  what  he  had  brought, 
but  as  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen,  he  would 
ask  me  to  bring  something  with  me  another  day. 
The  trinkets,  however,  took  his  fancy  and  he 
adorned  his  "  crown "  with  some  small  lockets 
and  chains,  and  handed  the  other  things  to  those 
who  were  in  the  hut. 

Leaving  the  royal  presence,  not  very  favour- 
ably  impressed  by  Mombera  and   his  drinking 

H 


114  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  begging,  I  was  conducted  to  the  seraglio 
where  the  numerous  wives  of  the  chief  were 
lying  about  sunning  themselves,  or  were  engaged 
making  beer  or  cooking  meat  for  their  despotic 
lord.  Each  greeted  the  stranger  and  begged  for 
cloth,  beads,  and  brass  wire.  Idleness  seemed  to 
be  the  bane  of  the  women  and  one  can  imagine 
that  many  quarrels  and  jealousies  would  arise, 
demanding  the  attention  of  the  queen  or  head 
wife,  whose  sphere  it  was  to  rule  the  harem  and 
regulate  the  number  and  position  of  the  wives 
which  were  constantly  being  added  to,  or  put 
out  of  the  way.  Mombera  had  his  favourites; 
these  improved  their  chance  and  sometimes 
inveigled  him  into  a  union  with  some  near  rela- 
tive of  their  own.  His  wives  were  distributed 
among  his  principal  villages,  either  as  properly 
dowried  wives,  or  as  the  handmaids  of  such  to 
do  their  work,  and  be  ready  to  entertain  their 
husband  and  his  guests  whenever  he  happened 
to  reside  at  their  village.  This  custom  of  having 
several  establishments  kept  up,  is  the  only  valid 
excuse  I  could  ever  get  for  the  practice  of  poly- 
gamy. A  man  would  say,  "  I  have  gardens  and 
a  village  at  so  and  so,  how  can  I  have  only  one 
wife  ?  Who  will  cook  my  food  and  hoe  my 
gardens  there  ?  " 

The  lot  of  many  of  Mombera  s  wives,  and  of 


FIRST  VISIT  TO  MOMBERA  1 1 5 

many  wives  of  others,  was  not  altogether  a  happy- 
one.  In  one  instance  a  principal  wife — the  chief 
wife  in  fact — was  slighted  by  Mombera  for  some 
reason  and  was  discarded  altogether,  and  only 
on  his  death  could  anyone  be  got  to  espouse  her 
cause,  and  to  put  her  in  her  proper  position.  In 
another  case  a  wife  residing  at  a  distant  village 
at  which  he  had  not  lived  for  several  years,  was, 
rightly  or  wrongly,  accused  of  adultery.  The 
chief,  whose  neglect  of  her  had  been  matter  of 
common  talk  and  reprobation  in  the  tribe,  sent 
his  executioner  and  killed  her  and  her  children. 
Immediately  after  that,  he  sent  a  messenger  to 
inform  us  that  he  had  married  another  wife — the 
twenty-sixth.  When  Mr  Koyi  remonstrated  with 
him  and  said  he  thought  he  would  be  afraid  to 
increase  his  troubles  in  that  way,  he  laughingly 
replied,  "I  do  it  for  peace;  this  sets  them  on 
each  other  and  they  leave  me  alone." 

Mombera  had  a  dual  character.  He  was  at 
his  best  in  the  early  part  of  the  day,  before  he 
became  intoxicated,  and  so  by  sun-rise  people 
with  cases  to  be  judged  went  to  see  him.  Then 
his  affability  and  generous  behaviour  were  pleas- 
ant to  see,  but  toward  afternoon  when  the  beer 
he  continually  sipped  began  to  act,  his  civility 
was  at  an  end  for  the  day  and  he  was  foul- 
mouthed  and  quarrelsome.     When  he  was  sober 


ii6  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

be  delighted  to  play  with  his  children,  and  mani- 
fested a  very  pleasing  interest  in  them  and  their 
mothers,  but  when  drunk  he  drove  them  from  his 
presence  with  obscene  curses.  He  had  a  great 
interest  in  old  people,  of  whom  he  had  always  a 
number  living  in  huts  within  the  seraglio.  He 
treated  them  with  respect  and  provided  for  them 
from  his  own  table.  If  he  was  shown  any  thing- 
new  and  strange  he  would  generally  have  it 
shown  to  the  old  people,  and  while  they  knelt 
before  him  in  due  respect,  one  could  notice  with 
pleasure  their  trustful  attitude  and  how  he  would 
heartily  respond  to  any  observation  of  wonder 
they  might  express.  On  one  occasion  he  sent 
for  my  wife's  sewing-machine  that  the  old  people 
in  his  village,  who  were  unable  to  walk  over  to 
the  station,  might  see  it  at  work  before  they  died. 
He  said  they  would  have  to  report  to  the  ances- 
tral spirits  how  many  new  and  wonderful  things 
had  now  become  known  to  the  people.  When  I 
went  to  exhibit  its  working,  from  some  cause  or 
other  it  could  not  be  got  to  sew  at  all.  In  vain 
I  tried  to  put  it  right,  and  Mombera,  who  had 
sat  looking  on  with  unusual  patience  for  some 
time,  unceremoniously  rose  and  walked  away, 
saying,  "  You  need  not  try.  You  told  your  wife 
where  you  were  going."  As  a  polygamist  ruler 
witli  many  strings  to  hold  in  his  hand,  he  be- 


FIRST  VISIT  TO  MOMBERA  1 1 7 

lieved  that  success  is  impossible  if  the  wives  are 
taken  into  confidence,  and  he  supposed  the  same 
of  us. 

I  have  been  a  witness  of  some  of  the  sweetest 
of  life's  incidents  in  the  behaviour  of  Mombera 
to  children  and  old  people,  just  as  at  other  times 
he  has  exhibited  some  of  the  darkest  phases  of 
heathen  corruptness.  But  he  was  neither  cruel 
nor  bloodthirsty  as  many  chiefs  of  the  Zulu  tribes 
have  been.  He  discountenanced  the  poison  ordeal 
which  was  adopted  from  the  Tonga  slaves,  believ- 
ing rather  in  their  own  trial  by  boiling  water, 
which  at  most  only  maimed  the  person  and  did 
not  destroy  life  as  the  muave  did.  He  was  con- 
sidered to  be  "  too  soft "  by  the  more  degraded 
and  fiery  dispositions,  and  had  no  delight  in  con- 
demning to  death.  Only  two  instances  of  the 
death-penalty  being  inflicted  by  Mombera  came 
under  my  own  observation,  during  all  the  years 
1  lived  under  him.  In  one  case  he  caused  a  man 
to  be  put  to  death  for  cattle-stealing,  after  having 
before  pardoned  him  for  the  same  ofi"ence.  He 
hanged  him  from  a  tree  near  our  house  as  a 
warning  to  those  who  about  that  time  were  steal- 
ing from  us,  and  the  body  hung  for  three  days 
before  the  white  ants  ate  the  rope  and  let  the 
hyenas  get  it.  The  other  case  was  where  a  mem- 
ber of  the  royal  family  killed  a  slave,  who  had 


ii8  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

run  away  from  him  and  put  himself  under  the 
protection  of  another  master.  Mombera  by  his 
action  was  esteemed  more  highly  by  the  slaves, 
and  he  knew  what  would  conciliate  those  who 
were  the  great  majority  of  the  tribe. 

But  despotic  rule  is  often  the  only  kind  suit- 
able among  uncivilised  people.  Until  the  people 
are  governed  by  higher  principles  than  those 
common  among  "  nature  -  peoples,"  a  despotic 
ruler  is  a  divine  institution  required  to  keep  in 
check  greater  evils.  I  have  been  told  by  thought- 
ful old  men  that  under  Zongandaba,  the  father  of 
Mombera,  the  Ngoni  were  purer,  more  truthful 
and  more  honest.  Fornication,  adultery,  steal- 
ing and  witchcraft  were  punished  by  death, 
whereas,  under  Mombera,  capital  punishment 
rarely  followed  these  offences.  The  custom  of 
the  Tonga  and  Tumbuka  of  settling  such  cases 
by  payments  of  goods  had  been  adopted,  and 
immorality  had  increased,  while  the  respect 
shown  by  children  to  their  parents  and  seniors 
had  decreased. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MEETING    WITH    THE    HEADMEN 

A  WEEK  after  our  visit  to  Mombera  a  mes- 
senger arrived  to  say,  that  next  clay  we 
were  requested  to  come  and  repeat  our  words 
to  the  head-men  of  the  tribe.  We  had  heard 
various  rumours  in  the  interval,  which  had  caused 
us  no  little  anxiety  as  to  what  would  be  the  re- 
sult of  the  meeting.  It  was  said  that  I  had  come 
with  many  loads  of  calico,  beads,  brass  wire,  and 
all  the  many  things  the  Ngoni  desire,  and  at  the 
meeting  I  was  to  enricli  the  people  and  make 
them  great.  Great  was  the  excitement  of  the 
people  over  this  piece  of  news.  How  such  an 
idea  came  to  them  takes  us  back  to  the  first 
meeting  of  Dr  Laws  with  them,  when  the  subject 
of  war  was  referred  to.  Dr  Laws  had  said  that 
by  obeying  "the  Book"  and  giving  up  war  and 
plunder,  they  would  become  richer  and  greater 
than  they  were.  The  spiritual  sense  in  which  the 
statement  was  made  was  not  perceived  by  the 
Ngoni,  and  from  that  day  many  were  the  theories 


120  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

expressed  of  how  "the  Book"  was  to  bring  riches 
and  greatness  to  them.  The  native  lives  only 
for  the  present  and  could  not  be  expected  to  see 
the  force  of  such  a  statement,  but  it  served  to 
emphasise  the  special  work  we,  unlike  trading 
Arabs  who  were  the  only  foreigners  they  had 
seen,  had  come  to  do.  We  were  "the  people  of 
the  Book  "  and  not  for  trade.  The  Book  was 
talked  of,  near  and  far,  and  became  a  source  of 
wonder  and  enquiry,  so  that  even  from  the  start, 
while  no  systematic  mission  work  was  allowed, 
not  a  day  passed  on  which  some  information  was 
not  given  and  seed  sown,  which,  as  we  now  view 
our  work,  has  borne  good  fruit.  It  was  no  un- 
common occurrence  to  see  a  group  of  strangers 
from  a  distance,  at  the  house  with  the  request  to 
be  shown  the  Book, — they  had  heard  of  it  and 
wished  to  see  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  great  council  of  ama- 
duna  we  were  in  the  chief's  cattle  kraal  at  eight 
o'clock,  and  the  whole  day  till  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  was  occupied  in  talking.  The 
cattle-fold  is  the  centre  of  every  Ngoni  village. 
At  the  royal  kraal,  where  we  met,  it  was  a 
circular  space  about  eighty  yards  in  diameter 
fenced  with  young  trees.  Around  it  in  ever 
widening  circles  the  huts  of  the  people  were 
built.    The  gate  was  at  the  side  nearest  the  river, 


u 


V 


r        ^^-^ 


)r^^<^ 


i 


1 


S' 


i.'.:«* 


*  / 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN  121 

and  at  the  opposite  side  was  a  smaller  gate  lead- 
ing from  the  chief's  quarters,  which  were  fenced 
off  from  the  houses  of  the  ordinary  people.  Tn 
the  centre  of  the  cattle-fold  there  was  one  of  the 
huge  ant-hills  which  are  so  numerous  throughout 
Ngoniland, 

Soon  after  our  arrival,  troops  of  warriors  fully 
armed  marched  in  and  took  up  their  situations 
in  the  enclosure.  There  were  eventually  several 
hundreds  present,  but  perfect  order  and  quiet 
were  observed.  When  all  the  warriors  had 
assembled,  the  chief  councillor,  Ng'onomo,  and 
the  others  came  in.  There  were  eleven  present 
that  day.  Accompanying  the  councillors  was  a 
large  number  of  men  of  inferior  rank  but  possess- 
ing certain  powers  in  the  tribe.  The  councillors 
seated  themselves  in  a  semi-circle  near  to  us. 
After  the  usual  delay  each  saluted  the  Mission 
party,  and  then  Mr  Koyi  rose  to  open  the  busi- 
ness. They  were  told  I  had  come  desiring  to 
stay  among  them,  and  to  teach  them  the  Word 
of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick.  Several  of  the 
councillors  spoke,  and  all  were  very  warm  in 
their  expressions  of  welcome  and  readiness  to 
give  permission  to  my  staying.  All  went 
smoothly  until  Ng'onomo  got  to  his  feet.  He 
began  by  performing  a  war-dance,  which,  being 
accompanied  by  the  war-shouts  of  the  warriors 


122  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

present,  and  as  I  could  not  understand  its  mean- 
ing, discomfited  me  not  a  little.  I  was  reassured 
when  I  caught  the  broad  smile  on  Sutherland's 
face  as  he  looked  at  me. 

All  the  nice  bits  of  native  politeness  and  flattery- 
had  been  said,  and  Ng'onomo,  bent  on  the  one 
question  of  war  and  conquest,  desired  to  give  the 
meeting  a  more  practical  turn.  He  finished  his 
war-dance,  and  after  recapitulating  the  speeches 
of  the  others,  he  plainly  said  that  they  were  not 
to  give  up  war ;  that  they  were  accustomed  from 
their  infancy  to  take  the  things  of  others  and 
could  not  see  any  reason  why  they  should  change 
their  habits.  He  said,  "The  foundation  of  the 
kingdom  is  the  spear  and  shield.  God  has  given 
you  the  Book  and  cloth,  and  has  given  to  us  the 
shield  and  spear,  and  each  must  live  in  his  own 
way."  To  emphasise  this  utterance,  he  again 
danced.  We  had  adopted  the  plan  of  replying 
to  anything  said  when  the  speaker  sat  down. 
Mr  Koyi  replied,  saying  that  the  Book  was  given 
to  all  mankind,  and  that  as  we  were  all  the 
children  of  God  it  teaches  us  that  we  ought  to 
live  in  peace  with  each  other.  Here  I  may  say 
that  there  is  no  word  in  Ngoni  for  "peace." 
They  now  use  an  imported  term, — their  own 
expression  which  comes  nearest  the  idea  being 
"  to  visit  one  another." 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN 


123 


No  new  question  was  raised  at  that  time,  but 
two  crucial  matters  with  the  Ngoni  in  those  days 
were  brought  up.  They  had  been  brought  up 
when  Dr  Laws  met  the  council,  and  for  many  a 
day  constituted  posers  for  us.  One  was  the  flight 
of  the  Tonga  to  Bandawe,  and  the  other  was  their 
desire  to  have  the  exclusive  right  to  the  presence 
of  the  white  men  in  the  country.  Mr  James 
Stewart  in  1879  visited  Mombera,  and  wrote 
thus : — "  The  next  day,  Saturday,  we  reached 
Mombera ;  but  when  I  enquired  for  the  chief, 
I  was  told  he  was  '  not  at  home.'  It  was  soon 
evident  that  he  was  either  designedly  absent,  or 
that  he  simply  denied  himself.  We  saw  only 
inferior  head-men,  who  expressed  dissatisfaction 
that  we  had  not  come  to  settle  among  them,  and 
that  they  did  not  understand  why  we  should  visit 
other  chiefs  before  doing  so.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
they  were  sincere  in  their  desire  to  make  friend- 
ship with  us ;  but  an  exclusive  alliance  would 
only  suit  them.  We  heard  that  they  were  tired 
of  waiting  for  us,  and  intended  now  to  take  their 
own  way,  which,  I  fear,  means  war  before  long. 
They  have  lost  both  power  and  prestige  within 
the  last  two  years,  and  may  now  be  resolving  to 
regain  both.  I  heard  later  that  there  are  two 
parties  in  their  council.  Mombera  and  Chipatula 
and  their  head-men  are  desirous  of  peace  and  to 


124  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

invite  us  still  to  come  among  them,  while  Mtwaro 
and  Mperembe  wish  to  keep  us  at  a  distance,  and 
to  recover  their  power  by  force  of  arms." 

Ng'onomo  asked  what  I  was  to  do  to  bring  back 
their  former  slaves,  the  Tonga,  who  had  revolted 
and  carried  aw^ay  some  of  their  wives  and  children, 
their  war-songs,  and  their  war-dances.  So  long, 
he  said,  as  we  would  not  restore  these,  so  long 
must  they  war  to  bring  them  and  all  other 
surrounding  tribes  into  subjection,  and  if  I 
would  not  in  a  peaceful  way  bring  back  the 
Tonga  people,  they  would  do  so  by  war  or 
drive  them  into  the  Lake.  It  required  not  a 
little  caution  to  answer  this  statement,  so  as  to 
still  the  excitement  of  the  crowd  of  people 
present  by  whom  such  words  were  applauded. 
I  directed  Mr  Koyi  to  say  that  no  doubt  they 
had  many  questions  in  which  they  were  deeply 
interested,  but  as  I  had  only  just  come  among 
them,  it  was  scarcely  fair  to  demand  of  me  a 
means  of  settling  them  before  I  had  become 
acquainted  with  them  and  had  learned  their 
language. 

My  remarks  had  the  effect  of  drawing  a  very 
sensible  speecli  from  an  old  councillor.  He  said 
I  was  only  now  like  a  child,  unable  to  speak  or 
walk,  and  as  they  did  not  call  upon  their  children 
to  go  out  to  seek  strayed  cattle,  or  give  judgments 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN  125 

in  the  affairs  of  the  tribe,  so  they  should  not  call 
on  me  to  settle  their  great  matters  while  I  yet 
could  not  speak  or  walk.  That  statement  turned 
the  discussion  into  more  favourable  lines,  and  al- 
though the  other  question  of  leaving  tlie  Tonga 
and  Bandawe  and  settling  among  the  Ngoni  ex- 
clusively was  brought  up,  we  were  able  to  satisfy 
the  people  without  exciting  their  jealousies,  or 
ao-reeino-  to  take  sides  with  them  ao;ainst  their 
runaway  slaves.  Ng  onomo  afterwards  returned 
to  the  war  question,  and  endeavoured  to  show 
that  their  war  raids  on  other  people  wore  not  a 
bad  thing.  He  said  they  were  surrounded  by 
people  whom  he  called  slaves,  and  that  it  was' 
not  their  desire  to  kill  them,  but  they  endeav- 
oured merely  to  chase  them  into  the  mountains, 
and  when  their  food  and  flocks  were  secured,  to 
say  to  them,  "  Come  down  now  and  let  us  all  live 
together."  It  was  conquest  and  not  murder  they 
pursued,  as  they  could  not  bear  the  idea  that  any 
people  should  point  the  finger  at  them,  and  say, 
"X"  (a  click,  expressive  of  contempt).  He 
made  an  original  proposal  which  was  not  less 
impossible  for  me  to  carry  out.  If  we  would 
atjree  to  countenance  one  more  raid  on  the 
people  at  the  north  end  who  were  rich  in 
cattle,  and  would  pray  to  our  God  that  they 
might    be     successful,     they    would,    on    their 


126  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONl 

return,  give  us  part  of  the  spoil  in  cattle  and 
wives,  and  would  proclaim  that  the  Book  was 
to  be  accepted  by  the  whole  tribe.  Here  there 
was  no  place  for  parrying,  and  the  reply  was 
given  emphatically  enough  that  we  were  not 
the  framers  of  the  words  in  the  Book,  but 
merely  the  teachers  charged  to  tell  all  men  the 
words  which  were  God's  and  binding  on  us  as 
well  as  on  them,  and  that  when  God  said, 
"Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "Thou  shalt  not  kill," 
we  had  no  power  to  change  the  command,  and 
could  not  in  any  way  countenance  their  wars. 
Then  Ng'onomo  asked  if  we  would  shut  the 
Book  and  not  pray  against  them  if  they  went 
out.  I  said  I  had  come  to  teach  these  words 
and  could  not  but  do  so. 

An  interesting  statement  was  made  by  one  old 
man.  He  had  evidently  watched  the  life  and 
character  of  Koyi  and  Sutherland,  and  con- 
sidered its  bearing  on  the  practical  things  of 
daily  life.  He  began  by  saying  they  were  glad 
I  was  a  doctor,  and  hoped  I  had  medicine  to 
make  Mombera  live  long.  He  went  on  to  speak 
of  other  medicine  which  he  thought  we  possessed 
of  which  they  had  no  knowledge.  He  said,  "  We 
see  you  white  people  are  not  afraid  to  go  about 
all  over  the  country,  and  you  settle  among  different 
tribes  and  become  the  friends  of  all.    How  is  that? 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN  127 

You  have  medicine  (natives  think  everything  is 
done  by  medicine  as  charms)  for  quieting  people's 
hearts  so  that  they  do  not  kill  you.  We  cannot 
do  so.  We  are  not  even  at  peace  among  ourselves. 
We  speak  fair  words  to  each  other,  but  that  is 
not  how  we  feel.  We  have  also  noticed  that 
your  servants  are  '  biddable,'  and  when  ordered 
to  do  anything  at  once  do  it.  It  is  not  so  with 
ours.  We  tell  a  slave  to  do  a  thing,  and  he  says, 
*  Yes,  master,  I  have  heard ' ;  but  he  does  not  do 
it  unless  he  chooses.  We  hope  you  will  give  us 
medicine  to  make  our  slaves  obedient,  and  to 
quiet  our  enemies."  A  better  opportunity  there 
could  not  have  been  for  giving  them  a  little  plain 
instruction,  and  for  putting  in  a  word  for  schools 
which  had  been  proscribed  since  the  Mission 
began.  Koyi,  whose  speech  was  as  clear  and 
pointed  as  theirs,  made  good  use  of  his  oppor- 
tunity. He  told  them  we  had  no  medicine  in 
their  sense,  but  the  words  of  the  Book  were 
stronger  than  medicine  when  taken  to  heart. 
He  quoted  the  golden  rule,  and  said,  "  That's 
the  medicine  for  quieting  enemies  everywhere, 
and  was  that  which  made  all  tribes  the  friends 
of  the  white  men."  Then  as  to  making  servants 
obedient,  li.e  said  the  Book  had  words  for  both 
servants  and  masters.  It  told  servants  to  be 
obedient  and  honour  their  masters ;  and  masters 


128  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

to  be  kiDcl  to  and  patient  with  their  servants, 
and  give  them  their  due  in  all  things.  He  added 
that  our  servants  were  obedient  and  happy  be- 
cause they  were  being  taught  the  Word  of  God, 
and  because  they  were  not  our  slaves,  but  were 
paid  their  wages  regularly.  He  advised  them  to 
try  it  among  theirs,  and  it  would  have  the  same 
happy  results.  Then  he  attacked  once  more 
the  stubbornness  of  the  people  in  refusing  to 
allow  schools.  He  said  in  doing  so  they  were 
refusing  the  medicine  which  they  were  crying 
out  for.  As  a  native  only  could,  he  ridiculed 
them,  and  by  happy  and  forcible  illustrations 
made  them  hesitate  in  the  position  they  held 
in  refusing  to  allow  schools.  He  said,  "  You 
are  like  a  sick  man  in  distress,  who  sees  others 
being  cured  and  cries  for  the  same  medicine, 
but  refuses  it  when  offered."  One  replied 
by  saying,  "  H  we  give  you  our  children  to 
teach,  your  words  will  steal  their  hearts ;  they 
will  grow  up  cowards,  and  refuse  to  fight  for  us 
when  we  are  old ;  and  knowing  more  than  we 
do,  they  will  despise  us."  That  was  met  by 
saying  that  the  Book  had  a  command  for 
children  which  they  must  allow  to  be  good, 
viz.,  "Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother." 
They  would  not  be  taught  anything  wrong, 
for  all  men  are  taught  to  fear  God  and  honour 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN  1 29 

the  King.  The  school  question  was  not  dis- 
cussed further ;  but  no  doubt  some  good  was 
done,  and  the  solution  hastened  by  what  had 
passed,  although  it  was,  as  we  shall  see,  two  years 
after  this  ere  liberty  was  given  to  open  schools. 

One  other  point  it  was  necessary  to  refer  to, 
as  only  the  district  immediately  under  Mombera 
was  open  to  the  Mission,  so  I  requested  leave  to 
go  about  the  country,  as  my  desire  was  to  help 
all.  The  districts  of  Mtwaro,  Mperembe,  and 
Maurau,  brothers  of  the  chief,  were  closed  to 
us,  not  more  by  the  hostility  of  these  sub-chiefs, 
than  by  the  jealousy  of  Mombera  and  his  ad- 
visers, who  desired  to  have  the  white  men  all 
to  themselves,  no  doubt  in  view  of  the  riches 
which  were  expected  to  come  through  them. 

I  was  advised  to  stay  with  the  others,  as  all 
were  not  favourable  to  our  presence  in  the 
country;  and  while  we  would  be  guarded  if  in 
their  midst,  they  could  not  tell  what  might 
happen  if  we  went  beyond  Mombera's  own 
district  into  that  of  any  of  his  brothers.  This 
was  not  satisfactory,  and  as  it  was  probably 
from  jealousy,  we  pushed  for  liberty  to  go 
about.  It  was  denied  by  the  councillors,  who 
repeated  their  reasons. 

It  was,  however,  clear  in  all  that  was  said,  that 
the  real  object  of  our  presence  among  them  was 

I 


I30  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

made  manifest.  However  mistaken  their  ideas 
were  as  to  the  teaching  of  the  Book,  we  were 
understood  to  be  men  with  a  message  to  be  re- 
ceived, and  they  were  honest  enough  to  say  they 
did  not  want  it.  No  advance  on  previous  liberties 
was  made,  but  our  position  as  neither  wishing  to 
bear  rule  over  them  nor  to  work  for  their  over- 
throw, but  to  teach  the  Word  of  God,  was  made 
plain  once  more. 

Then  came  the  not  very  agreeable  business 
of  presenting  the  gift  which  we  had  taken  for 
the  councillors.  There  was  considerable  excite- 
ment visible  generally,  as  each  was  presented 
with  twelve  yards  of  red  cloth,  a  kind  much 
valued  by  the  head-men.  As  each  had  his  por- 
tion presented  to  him  there  was  an  ominous 
silence  for  a  time,  and  then  a  burst  of  derisive 
laughter.  Some  turned  it  over  on  the  ground 
as  if  afraid  to  handle  it.  Some  got  up  and 
measured  it.  One  man  took  his  and  flung  it 
among  the  crowd  of  warriors.  One  came  over 
and  said  he  did  not  want  cloth.  One  only  had 
the  grace  to  thank  me.  They  were  reminded 
that  we  could  not  attempt  to  enrich  them  with 
goods,  but  had  merely,  according  to  their  custom, 
brought  "  something  in  our  hand "  as  a  visible 
token  of  the  friendship  our  hearts  desired.  One 
replied  saying  they  saw  we  were  not  bent  on 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN         131 

enriching  them,  but  it  was  good  to  remember 
that  they  had  great  hunger  for  various  kinds  of 
cloth  and  beads,  and  another  day  perhaps  they 
would  receive  more.  If  I  had  come  among  them 
expecting  the  grace  and  politeness  of  civilization, 
instead  of  their  proud  indifference  and  sovereign 
contempt  for  the  offering  of  friendship,  my  feel- 
ings would  have  suffered  more  than  they  did, 
but  I  was  heartily  glad  when  they  rose  up  to 
go,  and  that  the  wild  rumours  of  their  expecta- 
tions which  we  had  heard  for  some  days,  found 
no  more  pronounced  substantiation  than  their 
contemptuous  treatment  of  what  I  thought  was 
a  sufficient  gift  for  the  purpose  in  view.  The 
armed  warriors,  who  appeared  to  have  come  as 
the  bodyguard  of  the  head-men,  quietly  filed  out 
of  the  kraal  and  we  were  left  alone. 

Mombera  was  not  present,  and  the  councillors 
went  to  his  hut  to  report  to  him  the  matters 
which  had  been  talked  over.  Mr  Koyi  was 
called,  and  it  seems  the  chief  had  enquired  the 
reason  why  war  dancing  had  been  engaged  in. 
He  was  angry  at  Ng'onomo  and  told  him  that 
the  object  of  the  gathering  was  not  to  discuss 
tribal  matters  with  me,  but  to  hear  what  I  had 
to  say.  After  a  little  the  rest  of  us  were  called 
into  the  chiefs  hut,  where  Ng'onomo  and  some 
of  the  other  councillors  were  being  regaled  with 


132  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

beef  and  beer.  The  stiffness  and  formalities  of 
the  kraal  meeting  were  absent,  and  no  dis- 
appointment was  visible.  Mombera  delivered  a 
long  speech  bidding  me  welcome  among  them, 
and  expressing  joy  that  I  was  skilled  in  medicine. 
He  himself  was  often  sick,  he  said,  and  doubtless 
I  had  noticed  that  there  were  few  old  men  pre- 
sent that  day,  the  reason  being  that  they  were 
all  dead,  and  if  I  could  give  them  long  life  it 
would  be  good.  He  did  not  say  how  many 
never  reached  old  age  because  they  were  killed 
in  battle.  If  there  were  any  doubts  as  to  the 
full  security  of  our  position  in  the  tribe,  they 
were  accentuated  when  Mombera  repeated  the 
warning  of  the  councillors,  that  I  should  settle 
along  with  the  others  and  not  go  into  other  dis- 
tricts. No  doubt  there  was  some  desire  to  have 
exclusive  possession  of  the  white  men,  but  it  was 
noteworthy  that  although  word  had  been  sent  to 
all  the  sub-chiefs  to  come  to  the  palaver  none  had 
come,  and  none  of  their  head-men  were  present. 

With  too  great  eagerness,  perhaps,  I  pressed 
for  permission  to  visit  his  brother,  Mtwaro,  at 
Ekwendeni,  saying  my  desire  was  to  become 
acquainted  with  all  in  the  tribe  and  be  of  use 
to  all.  He  and  Mtwaro  were  not  on  friendly 
terms  at  that  time,  but  as  Mtwaro  was  heir- 
apparent  it  seemed  advisable  for  the  permanence 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN         133 

of  our  work,  in  the  event  of  Mombera's  death, 
to  become  known  to  Mtwaro  and  his  head-men. 
Not  since  1879,  when  Mr  John  Moir  visited 
Mtwaro  and  had  opened  the  way  for  others  by- 
friendly  dealings  with  him,  had  anyone  com- 
municated with  that  sub-chief,  and  he  had  only 
once  visited  the  Mission  station.  His  armies 
were  known  to  be  out  towards  the  Lake  very 
frequently,  and  we  all  thought  an  attempt  should 
be  made  to  gain  Mtwaro's  influence  as  Mombera's 
had  been  gained. 

After  my  statement  had  been  interpreted  to 
Mombera  and  he  had  consulted  with  some  of 
those  in  the  hut,  he  gave  permission  to  visit 
Mtwaro  and  was  thanked.  He  seemed  to  think 
that  that  would  soften  my  heart,  and  so  he  plied 
his  begging  and  his  demands  for  cloth,  beads, 
brass  wire,  big  guns,  little  guns,  gunpowder, 
dogs,  bulls  to  improve  his  breed  of  cattle, 
needles,  thread,  and,  above  all,  an  iron  box, 
with  lock  and  key,  in  which  to  keep  his  valu- 
ables, which  he  said  his  wives  and  his  councillors 
were  in  the  habit  of  stealing.  He  said  he  would 
come  over  to  see  me  when  I  could  give  him  these 
things.  It  was  hard  to  take  all  in  good  part  and 
be  at  ease  under  his  gaze  over  the  beer-pot,  and 
gracefully  excuse  our  non-compliance  with  his 
overwhelming  demands.      Nothing  but  a  desire 


134  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

to  be  a  means  of  blessing  to  such  a  chief  and 
tribe,  would  prove  an  inducement  to  live  the  life 
and  experience  which  may  be  said  to  have  begun 
that  day.  Forgetting  the  things  not  agreeable 
to  flesh  and  blood,  we  soon  after  took  our  de- 
parture, feeling  that  some  advance  had  been  made 
in  the  work  which  we  had  come  to  take  part  in. 

It  was  one  advantage  having  to  deal  with  a 
council  rather  than  a  single  individual,  and  be 
continually  subject  to  his  capricious  mind.  As 
the  Ngoni  had  a  settled  council  who  were  not 
without  dignity  and  caution  in  their  deliberations, 
it  was  evident  they  had  reciprocated  our  words 
as  far  as  they  could,  as,  not  being  over-anxious 
to  allow  us  all  we  asked,  they  were  prepared  to 
make  good  all  they  allowed.  The  occasion  was 
very  similar  to  that  on  which  Augustine  came 
to  Ethelbert  as  the  first  papal  missionary  to 
Britain.  When  he  sent  word  on  landing  that 
'*  he  had  come  with  the  best  of  all  messages, 
and  that  if  he  would  accept  it  he  would  ensure 
for  himself  an  everlasting  kingdom,"  Ethelbert 
would  not  commit  himself,  but  answered  with 
caution.  When  at  last  a  meeting  was  convened, 
and  Augustine  *'  had  preached  to  him  the  Word 
of  life,"  as  Bede  says,  Ethelbert  replied,  **  Fair 
words  and  promises  are  these ;  but  seeing  they 
are  new  and  doubtful,  I  cannot  give  in  to  them, 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN  135 

and  give  up  what  I  and  all  the  English  race  have 
so  long  observed."     But  unlike  Augustine,  who 
was  accorded  the  privilege  of  bringing  any  one 
of  the  people  over  to  the  new  faith,  we  were  told 
that  the  chief  and  council  would  first  have  to  be 
taught,  and  if  they  considered  our  message  safe, 
they  would  give  us  full  liberty  to  teach  the  people. 
It  may  here  be  noted  how  different  has  been 
the  introduction  of  the  Mission  to  all  the  other 
peoples  in  Livingstonia.    In  all  the  other  districts 
the  missionaries  were  hailed  as  the  friends  and 
protectors  of  the  people.      All  were  subject  to 
stronger  tribes,  by  whom  they  were  constantly 
harried,  or  were  trying  to  maintain  an  indepen- 
dent   existence    surrounded   by   their   enemies; 
hence    they   gladly    welcomed    the    missionary, 
hoping    that    his    presence   would   prove   their 
safety  from   their  enemies.      In  no  single  case 
did  they  welcome  him  on  account  of  his  mes- 
sage ;  and  the  trouble  in  those  early  days  was 
that  he  was   pestered  for   medicine,   guns    and 
powder  to  kill  their  enemies.     The  Missions  in 
those  districts  had  the  preparatory  work  to  do 
in  making  the  people  understand  the  reason  for 
their  presence,  just  as  we  had  of  another  kind  in 
Ngoniland.      Through  the  faithful  testimony  of 
Messrs  Koyi  and  Sutherland,  the  Ngoni  had  by 
the  time  of  my  arrival  come  to  understand  clearly 
what  our  message  really  was.     They  needed  not 


136  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONJ 

our  protection  from  their  enemies,  as  they  were 
masters  of  the  country  for  many  miles  around ; 
and,  indeed,  their  pride  would  not  have  allowed 
them  to  think  that  in  any  way  a  white  man  or 
two  could  be  of  any  profit  to  them.  They  knew 
our  teaching  would  strike  at  their  sins  of  un- 
cleanness,  lying,  war,  murder  and  stealing,  and 
they  were,  unlike  the  so-called  deceitful,  vaccil- 
lating  African,  at  least  honest  in  their  treatment 
of  our  words.  There  was  great  good  in  having 
got  their  ear  so  far ;  and  even  distinct  refusal 
was  far  better  than  ready  compliance,  to  be  as 
readily  retracted  when  occasion  arose.  It  is  far 
better  to  have  to  deal  with  an  opposing  council 
of  head-men  with  power  than  with  a  chief  him- 
self, even  although  he  agrees  at  the  time. 

If  before  leaving  home  I  received  one  bit  of 
advice  more  often  than  any  other  from  Dr  Laws, 
who  had  experience,  along  with  Mr  James  Stewart 
and  Mr  Koyi,  of  the  dangerous  and  trying  work 
of  gaining  an  opening  among  the  Ngoni,  it  was 
that  I  should  proceed  gently  and  push  nothing 
beyond  what  was  a  wise  point.  On  such  occa- 
sions as  the  meeting  referred  to,  the  judgment 
and  caution  of  Mr  Koyi  were  invaluable,  and  he 
was  of  opinion  that  we  should  not  endanger  our 
position  with  Mom]3era  at  that  stage,  while  not 
sure  that  we  would  be  received  by  Mtwaro.  We 
sent  a  reply  that  we  had  no  desire  to  act  con- 


MEETING  WITH  THE  HEADMEN  137 

trary  to  the  chief's  wishes  in  the  matter,  and 
that  until  he  could  send  someone  to  introduce 
us  to  his  brother,  we  would  refrain  from  going. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  we  were  merely  in 
the  country  on  sufferance  at  that  time.  We  did 
not  even  own  the  site  of  our  house,  and  were  not 
by  any  means  assured  of  a  permanent  residence 
among  them,  so  that  we  would  not  have  been 
acting  wisely  had  we  been  more  anxious  to  as- 
sert our  independence,  than  to  improve  the,  as 
yet,  slight  hold  we  had  on  Mombera  and  his 
councillors.  There  are  three  special  qualifica- 
tions necessary  in  every  missionary,  viz.,  grace, 
gumption,  and  go.  Prayer  and  the  exercise  of 
it  will  ensure  the  first ;  where  one  may  get  the 
second,  I  know  not,  but  the  want  of  it  is  ac- 
countable for  more  failures  in  the  foreign  field 
than  anything  else  ;  and  the  third,  although  in- 
valuable, can  only  be  right  as  the  outcome  of  the 
former.  To  spend  years  among  the  Ngoni  and 
be  denied  many  liberties  may,  indeed,  be  an 
undignified  position  for  a  free-born  Briton ;  but 
mere  questions  of  dignity  ought  not  to  trouble 
the  slaves  of  Christ  in  the  work  to  which  they 
have  been  called.  Little  by  little,  as  we  shall 
see,  our  position  was  improved  among  the  Ngoni, 
and  the  years  of  apparent  unfruitfulness  were 
necessary  preparation  for  the  intelligent  accept- 
ance of  the  Gospel. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MISSION    LIFE   AND    WOEK   IN   THE    DARK   DAYS 

ABOUT  the  time  when  I  was  beginning  to 
realise  how  actual  mission  work  differed 
from  the  romantic  ideas  of  it  too  commonly 
entertained  at  home,  and  overcharged  with 
which  many  enter  the  field,  a  notable  mis- 
sionary— A.  M.  Mackay — far  away  in  Uganda 
was  writing  these  words  : — "  Current  ideas  at 
home  as  to  mission  work  are,  I  fear,  very 
different ;  but  I  have  not  heard  of  any  part 
of  Africa,  east  or  west,  where  the  native  bear- 
ing to  the  Missions  is  different  from  what  it 
is  in  this  neighbourhood.  It  is  a  system  of 
beggary  from  beginning  to  end,  and  too  ofteu 
of  suspicion,  and  more  or  less  hostility  too. 
Only  when  these  first  adverse  stages  are  passed 
can  we  expect  to  do  any  real  good.  Disarming 
suspicion  and  securing  friendship  are  a  slow 
process,  but  an  absolutely  necessary  one.  They 
are  most  wearisome  and  trying  to  the  faith  and 

temper  of  those  engaged  in  the  task,  while  they 
138 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK  139 

yield  no  returns  to  show  in  mission  reports ;  yet 
on  their  success  depends  the  future  of  our  work. 
Hereabout  we  are  so  far  from  the  reapiiig  stage, 
that  we  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be  sowing.  We 
are  merely  clearing  the  ground,  and  cutting  down 
the  natural  growth  of  suspicion  and  jealousy,  and 
clearing  out  the  hard  stones  of  ignorance  and 
superstition.  Only  after  the  ground  is  thus  in 
some  measure  prepared  and  broken  up,  can  we 
cast  in  the  seed  with  hope  of  a  harvest  in  God's 
good  time," 

These  are  words  of  truth  and  soberness,  as  every 
real  worker  can  testify  from  his  own  experience. 
At  this  time,  being  unable  to  move  about  among 
the  villages  with  any  degree  of  freedom,  we  were 
often  compelled  to  pass  the  time  on  the  station, 
and  were  assailed  by  overbearing  and  impudent 
men  and  women,  clamouring  for  whatever  they 
saw  with  us  whicli  they  coveted.  To  say  we 
were  annoyed  is  to  use  a  mild  term  for  our 
experience.  From  morning  till  night  the  house 
was  beset  by  natives  begging.  They  allowed 
us  no  privacy,  and  our  rooms  were  darkened  by 
a  crowd  pressing  round  the  windows  and  flatten- 
ing their  noses  against  the  panes.  If  one  ventured 
out  his  steps  were  dogged  by  a  clamouring  mob. 
Any  attempt  to  divert  their  attention  from  beg- 
ging by  showing  pictures,  explaining  the  work- 


I40  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

ing  of  apparatus,  or  manufacture  of  articles,  was 
treated  with  indifference.  Time  was  of  no  value 
to  them,  and  so  for  many  a  long  day  the  vicinity 
of  our  house  was  the  meeting-place  of  all  who 
sought  diversion  through  watching  the  white  man, 
or  begging  for  the  clothes  off  his  back.  Men  who 
could  have  been  well  clothed  appeared  in  rags, 
which  they  took  pains  to  show.  Others  would 
come  in  a  nude  state,  hoping  to  appeal  to  us 
thereby.  When  they  wanted  cloth  and  beads 
they  complained  of  hunger,  which  they  indicated 
by  drawing  themselves  in  and  simulating  an 
empty  stomach.  If  one  offered  them  food  they 
disdainfully  rejected  it,  and  explained  that  their 
hunger  was  for  calico.  Their  importunity  and 
arrogance  were  at  times  almost  maddening,  and 
sometimes  the  only  relief  got  was  by  shutting 
up  the  house  and  going  away  to  spend  a  few 
hours  on  Njuyu  mountain  and  leaving  them 
alone.  We  could  not  reason  them  out  of  their 
begging  habits.  They  could  not  entertain  our 
view  of  the  disgraceful  and  undignified  habit. 
They  would  say  in  flattering  terms,  "We  are 
praising  you  by  begging.  Do  men  beg  from 
people  who  are  poor  and  mean  ? " 

But  while  the  annoyance  was  great,  their  un- 
reasonableness and  selfishness  made  it  well-nigh 
impossible  to  bring  any  sort  of  benefit  within 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK  141 

their  reach.  When  we  began  to  make  bricks  for 
housebuilding,  and  were  thereby  able  to  put  some 
cloth  in  circulation  among  them,  the  work  was 
repeatedly  stopped  by  some  head-man  or  com- 
bination of  natives,  who  desired  that  they  only 
should  have  the  benefit  of  it.  The  very  people 
who  had  been  the  friends  of  the  Mission  at  first 
became  our  enemies,  and  did  all  in  their  power  to 
compel  us  to  submit  to  their  demands  to  supply 
them  with  whatever  they  wanted.  They  had 
given  up  the  spear  and  had  been  coming  to  our 
Sunday  service,  but  as  we  would  not  enrich  them 
with  earthly  possessions  they  turned  against  us, 
and  reviled  us  for  having  cheated  them,  as  they 
were  now  poorer  than  when  they  followed  their 
own  ways.  Three  brothers,  Chisevi,  Injomane 
and  Baruke,  the  heads  of  the  neighbouring 
villages,  became  openly  hostile  and  threatened 
to  go  to  Bandawe  with  war,  because  we  would 
not  pay  them  for  being  at  peace  with  us.  Injo- 
mane— the  murderer  of  his  own  mother,  cruel  and 
treacherous — set  out  and  attacked  a  village  near 
Bandawe.  On  his  return  the  war-party  made  a 
demonstration  at  the  station,  by  engaging  in  war- 
dances,  and  speaking  against  the  Mission  and  the 
"  news."  The  effect  of  these  war-parties  going 
out  was  that  we  were  left  without  mails  and 
supplies  at  times,  as  the  Tonga  at  Bandawe,  on 


142  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

whom  we  had  to  depend  for  carriers,  were  afraid 
to  venture  on  the  road. 

From  the  native  point  of  view,  those  members 
of  the  Chipatula  clan  who  had  befriended  the 
Mission,  and  had  been  the  means  of  our  gaining 
an  entrance  to  the  country,  were  right  in  attri- 
buting their  position  to  their  friendship  for  us. 
They  were  the  sons  of  a  once  powerful  chief  who 
had  lost  his  kingdom.  They  hoped  that  through 
the  Mission  they  might  regain  their  former  posi- 
tion. They  had  heard  and  accepted  Dr  Laws's 
statement,  that  by  serving  God  they  would  attain 
to  greater  riches  than  by  using  the  spear.  They 
did  not  apprehend  the  spiritual  aspect  of  the  case 
and  gave  expression  to  the  only  need  they  felt. 
Their  expectations  had  been  disappointed  and 
they  had,  in  befriending  the  Mission,  become 
to  a  certain  extent  outcasts  from  the  Ngoni  who 
were  all  along  opposed  to  the  settlement  of  the 
Mission.  They  had  not  learned  to  work  and  now 
that  their  spears  brought  them  nothing,  they 
were  indeed  poorer  in  all  that  they  valued.  It 
was  often  a  trying  situation  to  meet  their  attacks 
and  to  quiet  their  feelings,  and  in  it  all  we  saw 
how  not  the  words  of  man  but  the  Divine  Spirit, 
can  reveal  to  men  their  spiritual  state  and  make 
plain  to  them  the  Word  of  Life.  It  was  pecu- 
liarly hard  on  William  Koyi,  when  alone  among 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK  143 

them,  to  hear  the  Gospel  accused  in  this  way, 
and  with  a  better  intention  than  judgment  he 
made  presents  to  them  to  keep  them  quiet.  He 
was  discovering  that  it  was  an  unsafe  kind  of 
peace  which  was  thus  produced,  and  when  I 
arrived  the  whole  question  was  discussed.  We 
resolved  that  such  a  practice  must  be  stopped. 

As  time  went  on  matters  did  not  improve. 
When  our  determination  not  to  pay  anyone  for 
coming  to  hear  the  Word  preached,  or  to  give 
presents  in  answer  to  the  demand  of  those  who 
came  to  beg,  became  evident  to  them,  they  used 
other  methods  in  trying  to  coerce  us.  Our  cattle 
were  stolen  from  the  herds  when  feeding,  or  from 
the  fold  at  night,  and  we  were  never  able  to 
detect  the  thief.  Trees  brought  in  for  firewood 
or  housebuilding  disappeared  ;  clothing  hung  out 
to  dry  was  stolen,  and  our  fields  and  gardens 
cleared  of  produce.  As  we  were  living  among 
them  on  sufferance,  there  was  no  healthy  senti- 
ment to  which  we  could  appeal  when  wrong  was 
done  to  us.  If  we  could  not  detain  the  thief 
in  the  very  act  there  was  no  case.  During  the 
rainy  season  we  frequently  suffered  from  cattle- 
stealing.  On  a  night  when  rain  was  falling 
heavily,  the  fold  would  be  entered  and  the  best 
beast  taken  out  and  driven  far  away  before 
morning,  the  heavy  rain  obliterating  all  trace  of 


144  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

the  route  taken.  The  time  of  service  or  prayer- 
meeting  was  chosen  for  entering  the  corn-field 
and  garden,  and  stripping  them  of  our  food 
supply.  It  would  have  been  very  easy  at  any 
time  to  produce  a  rupture  between  us  and  the 
natives  by  a  want  of  forbearance  on  our  part, 
and  yet  there  were  circumstances  at  times,  in 
which  it  was  impossible  not  to  defend  our  pro- 
perty though  not  by  force  of  arms.  On  their 
part  they  made  war  demonstrations  on  the 
slightest  occasion.  The  cattle-herd  may  have 
allowed  our  cattle  to  stray  into  a  native's 
garden,  and  he  and  his  friends  would  come  to 
the  station  armed  and  perform  a  war-dance 
as  a  preliminary  to  opening  the  case.  Nothing 
was  so  efi'ectual  in  overpowering  them  on  such 
occasions  as  quietly  to  allow  them  to  dance  till 
they  were  satisfied,  and  then  calmly  say  "  Good 
morning."  When  the  season  for  beer-feasts  came 
round  we  had  to  live  through  much  that  was 
exceedingly  trying  to  flesh  and  blood,  and  could 
only  be  endured  for  the  Lord's  sake.  The  beer, 
which  was  brewed  from  a  kind  of  millet,  was 
considered  "ripe"  after  so  many  hours'  fermen- 
tation, and  in  order  to  annoy  us  it  was  frequently 
made  so  as  to  mature  on  Sabbath.  Then  early 
in  the  morning  the  guns  would  be  fired  or  a 
horn  blown  to  inaugurate  what  would  be  a  day's 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK  145 

debaucli,  and  the  people  congregated  for  the 
orgie.  As  the  hours  wore  on  and  the  drunken 
natives  began  to  dance  and  sing,  the  sacred  day 
was  filled  by  unhallow^ed  sounds,  while  towards 
evening  what  had  begun  as  friendly  song  and 
repartee,  ended  often  in  fighting  and  bloodshed. 
Our  quiet  was  not  only  broken  by  these  sounds 
from  the  villages,  but  sometimes  a  band  of 
drunken  youths,  or  men  and  women,  would 
come  to  the  service  or  to  our  door  and  assail 
us  with  foul  song  and  epithet,  or  engage  men- 
acingly in  war-dances. 

In  July  1885  an  attempt  was  made  by  Injo- 
mane  (before  mentioned)  to  frighten  us  into 
resiling  from  our  position  on  the  question  of 
presents,  and  the  issue  of  which  considerably 
strengthened  our  hands.  A  party  of  Tonga  had 
come  up  from  Bandawe  with  letters  and  goods. 
When  they  had  gone  a  few  miles  on  their  re- 
turn journey,  Injomane  and  a  party  of  his  young- 
men  attacked  them.  They  were  robbed  of  all 
their  clothing  and  their  weapons,  and  some  of 
them  wounded.  Chisevi,  a  brother  of  Injomane, 
came  to  the  station  and  informed  us  of  the 
threatened  attack,  hinting  that  while  he  had  a 
good  heart  to  us  himself,  he  had,  for  the  sake 
of  his  position,  to  appear  at  times  as  our  enemy, 
and  that  we  would  no  doubt  see  how  he  esteemed 

K 


146  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

us  and  reward  him  for  informing  us.  Before  we 
had  time  to  act  for  the  protection  of  our  Tonga 
carriers,  one  of  them  who  had  escaped  without 
wound  returned  to  give  us  information.  The 
others,  wounded  and  robbed,  escaped  into  the 
bush,  not  daring  to  come  back  through  the  vil- 
lages in  a  nude  state.  We  considered  that  the 
case  should  be  taken  to  the  chief,  in  order  that 
we  might  see  of  what  value  were  the  words  of 
the  chief  and  councillors  in  protecting  us.  Mr 
Koyi  and  I  thereupon  went  to  Mombera  and 
made  complaint,  pointing  out  that  protection 
to  us  must  mean  also  protection  to  any  in  our 
service.  Mombera,  with  his  natural  shrewdness, 
asked  us  why  those  who  had  brought  us  into  the 
country  had  now  turned  against  us.  We  said 
that  they  were  harassing  us  because  we  would 
not  satisfy  their  demands  for  cloth  and  beads. 
He  was  very  angry  and  called  the  Chipatulas 
"rats,"  saying  that  it  was  only  our  presence  that 
preserved  them  from  the  attack  of  his  army.  He 
desired  to  send  an  army  over  to  punish  them, 
but  we  proposed  that  he  should  send  a  coun- 
cillor to  make  an  investigation  and  call  the 
people  together  to  inform  them  that  we  must 
be  protected. 

Ng'onomo,  his  prime  minister,  being  the  coun- 
cillor for  the  district  in  which  we  lived,  was  sent 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK 


•47 


to  hold  a  court.  All  the  villagers  were  called 
up,  and  although  Injomane  and  Chisevi  (who  had 
informed  us)  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  aflfair, 
after  a  whole  day's  talk,  Ng'onomo  decided  that 
Injomane  had  done  wrong  and  that  the  cloth  and 
spears  should  be  returned.  We  were  asked  if  the 
punishment  was  full  enough,  and  we  had  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  our  regret  that  the  people  in 
whose  interests  we  had  come  should  not  admit  us 
to  their  friendship,  and  permit  us  to  carry  on  our 
work  for  their  good.  After  warning  the  people 
against  annoying  us,  Ng'onomo  declared  the 
indaha  at  an  end.  An  ox  was  killed,  and  the 
judge,  prosecutor,  and  defendants  all  feasted  to- 
gether in  amity.  The  Chipatulas  had  feared 
other  treatment,  as  they  had  sent  away  all  their 
herds  and  goods,  so  that  they  had  another  exhibi- 
tion of  our  forbearance  and  desire  to  do  them 
good. 

If  we  had  been  asked  by  carping  critics  at  this 
time,  "  What  are  the  results  of  your  work  ?  "  we 
could  not  have  pointed  to  a  single  convert,  al- 
though the  Mission  had  been  already  three  years 
in  the  district.  To  all  appearance  it  was  a  fail- 
ure. From  the  chief  and  the  councillors  we  had 
stolid  indifference,  and  direct  veto  against  educat- 
ing the  children,  or  moving  about  to  preach  the 
Gospel ;  and  from  many  of  our  near  neighbours 


148  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

we  were  receiving  marks  of  base  ingratitude  and 
opposition.  But  was  no  work  being  done  and  no 
good  being  accomplished  ?  Of  stated  work  there 
was  not  much.  We  were  denied  access  to  every 
village  save  two  outside  the  area  of  Hoho,  as  the 
district  in  which  we  lived  was  called.  On  the 
station  we  were  meeting  daily  with  men  and 
women,  and  youths  and  maidens,  who  were  em- 
ployed in  housebuilding.  To  these  we  had 
opportunity  of  speaking  about  spiritual  things. 
There  were  the  boys  in  the  house  as  servants 
who  were  collected  for  worship  and  oral  instruc- 
tion every  day.  A  few  young  men  outside  began 
to  take  an  interest  in  these  services  and  attended. 
From  them  grew  a  stated  service  on  the  Sabbath, 
to  which  by  and  by  others  came,  and  although 
open  preaching  of  the  Word  had  been  proscribed, 
we  gradually  came  out  more  boldly  and  our  ser- 
vice was  tolerated,  and  in  turn  became  an  object 
of  interest  to  others  abroad.  Only  a  few  of  the 
women  came,  and  the  men  were  fully  armed. 

The  service  was  often  very  uproarious.  The 
dogs  snarled  and  fought  with  each  other,  and 
when  this  took  place  the  "  backers "  of  the 
diflferent  dogs  whistled  and  encouraged  them. 
Often  audible  remarks  followed  the  reading  of 
passages  or  parts  of  the  address.  Sometimes  a 
man  would  get  up  and  declare  that  it  was  all 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK  149 

lies,  and  demand  cloth  as  they  had  heard  enough 
of  the  Gospel.  Some  came  out  of  curiosity  ; 
others  came  having  the  impression  that  we  gave 
cloth  to  all  who  attended  ;  and  sometimes  spies 
were  sent  by  the  chief's  councillors  to  see  and 
report  what  was  done.  This  was  known  to  us 
for  some  time,  but  we  did  not  think  any  evil 
would  come  of  it,  until  the  rumour  got  abroad 
that  we  were  inciting  the  slaves  to  revolt  against 
their  masters.  Mr  Koyi  had  the  burden  of 
anxiety  for  he  heard  all  that  was  being  said,  and 
was  always  either  the  preacher  or  interpreter,  as 
I  had  not  then  acquired  the  language.  The 
rumour  arose  from  the  Tumbuka  slaves  having 
begun  to  attend  the  meetings,  and  afterwards 
discussing  the  teaching  of  the  ten  commandments 
in  the  villages.  Their  masters  began  to  be  sus- 
picious, and  for  a  time  we  feared  that  our  service 
would  be  stopped.  "  The  common  people  heard 
us  gladly,"  and  were  realising  that  in  the  Gospel 
there  were  hopes  unfolded  for  them  which  found 
a  response  in  their  hearts.  We  were  called  to 
account  by  the  councillors,  but  were  able  to 
satisfy  them  as  to  what  was  said  and  done,  pro- 
testing that  we  had  no  desire  to  interfere  in  their 
tribal  relationships  or  to  upset  the  authority  of 
the  chief. 

As  young  men  we  were  used  in  exercising  an 


150  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

influence  on  the  young  men  very  particularly, 
and  gradually  gathered  round  us  a  band  of  half 
a  dozen,  who  began  to  speak  in  defence  of  our 
work.  They  even  met  together  for  prayer  and 
singing  of  hymns,  and  were  in  consequence  marked 
out  for  persecution.  They  were  called  "  bricks," 
in  derision,  as  they  worked  with  us  and  favoured 
us.  They  were  often  set  upon  by  others,  and  had 
many  a  hard  day,  while  yet  but  imperfectly  taught 
in  the  Word.  But  it  was  the  beginning  of  fruit, 
and  came  to  brighten  our  labours.  To  show  how 
the  changed  behaviour  of  those  lads  led  them  into 
trouble,  the  following  instance  is  given.  The  child 
of  one  of  them  was  ill.  Although  the  grandfather 
was  a  native  doctor,  the  father  called  me  to  at- 
tend his  boy.  He  was  suff'ering  from  croup.  It 
being  the  custom  for  the  father  not  to  appear  in 
the  presence  of  his  mother-in-law,  he  could  not 
enter  the  hut  where  she  was.  After  treating  the 
child  I  went  away,  but  on  my  next  visit  I  could 
not  find  my  patient.  It  had  been  carried  out 
into  a  maize  field.  I  saw  the  poor  thing  strug- 
gling for  breath,  and  soon  after  it  died.  The 
"  smelling-out "  doctor  was  called  to  discover  the 

o 

cause  of  death.  He  decided  that  the  spirits  were 
angry,  and  wanted  to  punish  the  father  for  for- 
saking the  beliefs  of  the  old  people  and  listening 
to  our  preaching.     He  had  also  been  neglecting 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK  151 

to  offer  sacrifices  to  tlie  ancestral  spirits.  So 
strong  is  their  faith  in  their  doctors  that  all  this 
was  believed,  and  our  young  disciple  had  to  suffer 
persecution. 

While  the  direct  evangelistic  work  was  circum- 
scribed, there  was  practically  no  limit  to  the 
medical  work  which  I  carried  on  in  the  district 
ruled  by  Mombera.  At  first  people  came  in 
crowds.  Those  who  were  sick  expected  to  be 
healed  immediately,  and  those  who  were  not 
sick  expected  medicine  to  keep  them  well.  Many 
cases  of  a  very  trivial  nature  were  treated,  but 
there  was  a  value  in  the  work  apart  from  the 
relief  given  to  the  individual.  For  instance,  if 
a  slave  were  sick  and  unable  to  work,  no  care 
was  taken  of  him.  Such  were  sought  out,  and 
often  a  master  had  a  useful  servant  restored  to 
his  service.  He  put  a  value  on  this,  and  was 
favourably  impressed  with  this  part  of  our  work. 
It  was  easy  to  get  a  hearing  from  such  as  he  on 
the  other  aspects  of  our  work  afterwards.  A  poor 
woman,  left  to  die  as  an  evil-doer  if  she  failed  in 
her  "  hour  of  nature's  sorrow,"  when  saved,  to- 
gether with  her  infant,  by  treatment  of  the  proper 
kind,  would  thenceforth  be  well  disposed  towards 
us  and  our  work.  A  wife  represented  so  many 
cattle,  and  her  husband  would  ap23reciate  the 
benefit  of  our  work  and  be  our  friend.     Little 


152  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

children,  relieved  from  pain  and  sickness,  under- 
stood the  practical  nature  of  the  work,  and  would 
always  respond  to  our  words.  In  such  ways,  up 
and  down  the  country,  the  work  was  quietly  and 
surely  influencing  the  people,  and  while  there 
was  yet  nothing  to  tabulate  for  reports,  the 
future  harvest  was  being  insured. 

Many  things  compelled  the  people  to  talk  of 
us  and  our  work,  and  it  was  plain  that  while 
there  was  no  sign  of  liberty  being  given  to  teach 
the  children  and  preach  throughout  the  tribe,  the 
feeling  among  the  people  that  we  were  not  being 
sufficiently  trusted  was  gaining  ground.  We  took 
advantage  of  any  opportunity  to  renew  our  ap- 
plication to  be  allowed  to  open  schools.  Some- 
times that  led  to  their  discussing  the  question, 
and  at  other  times  it  led  to  threats  to  withdraw 
all  permission  to  preach.  We  began  to  be  more 
respected,  as  those  who  had  received  benefit  were 
bold  to  declare  it,  but  we  did  not  seem  to  have 
made  any  impression  on  the  chief  and  councillors. 
They  continued  to  declare  that  they  would  never 
receive  the  Word  of  God,  while  the  common 
people  said  that  until  the  heads  of  the  tribe 
did  so  they  could  not.  The  reason  why  the 
head-men  would  not  countenance  our  work  was 
no  doubt  because  they  knew  that  the  result  of 
it  would  be  to  overthrow  their  power  over  the 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK 


153 


slaves,  and  to  crush  the  war  spirit  in  their  chil- 
dren ;  also,  because  they  were  in  the  hands  of  the 
witch-doctors,  whom  they  trusted  to  the  utmost 
as  the  only  channel  of  communication  with  the 
ancestral  spirits.  Those  witch-doctors  were  against 
us  as  they  saw  their  craft  to  be  in  danger. 

One  of  the  greatest  effects  of  the  medical  mis- 
sion work  was  that,  by  it,  the  empiricism  of  the 
native  doctors  was  overthrown,  and  the  common 
people,  ignorant  and  superstitious,  were  rescued 
from  the  bondage  of  their  shrewd  but  deceitful 
incantations.  Native  doctors  fail  in  diagnosis 
more  than  in  power  to  heal.  Yet  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  majority  of  diseases  they  are  help- 
less, and  in  that  case  they  fall  back  on  the 
professed  will  of  the  spirits  that  the  patient  is 
to  die. 

Towards  the  end  of  this  year  (1885),  having 
received  encouragement  from  a  sister  of  the  chief 
who  was  head  of  a  village  called  Chinyera,  about 
five  miles  from  the  station,  we  built  a  round  hut 
there  and  Mr  Williams  went  to  live  in  it.  When 
this  came  to  the  chiefs  ears  he  sent  for  us,  and 
asked  if  the  country  had  been  given  over  to  us 
that  we  had  begun  to  occupy  it.  We  referred 
him  to  his  sister  who  had  invited  us,  and  we 
heard  no  more  of  it  although  it  led  to  increased 
bitterness  among  the  councillors.     We  had  thus 


154  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

actually,  without  formal  liberty,  opened  our  first 
sub-station  and  widened  the  area  of  our  influence. 
Mr  Williams  conducted  a  small  service  in  his  hut, 
and  Mr  Koyi  remained  with  me  at  Njuyu  doing 
the  same  work.  But  during  all  those  months  we 
were  the  subject  of  continual  discussion  among 
the  people.  Sometimes  a  councillor  would  spend 
half  a  day  on  the  station  speaking  on  things  in 
general  and  evidently  having  some  errand  which 
he  was  unwilling  to  reveal.  In  going  away  he 
would  ask,  "  How  long  are  you  going  to  stay 
among  us  seeing  we  are  refusing  your  message  ? " 
What  to  make  of  us  or  what  to  do  with  us,  was 
evidently  a  problem  which  they  could  not  solve. 
They  were  no  doubt  irritated  by  hearing  of  the 
prosperity  of  their  former  slaves,  the  Tonga, 
under  the  Mission  at  Bandawe.  We  were  con- 
sidered to  be  standing  in  the  way  of  their  com- 
pelling their  return  to  bondage,  and  over  and 
over  again  disquieting  news  of  what  they  were 
saying  and  plotting  reached  us.  It  was  a  com- 
mon occurrence  for  a  section  of  the  army  to  be 
called  up  for  review  and  to  get  secret  orders. 
Not  only  our  own  position,  but  the  position  of 
our  brethren  at  Bandawe  gave  us  anxiety  on  such 
occasions.  Sometimes  the  Chipatulas  would 
suddenly  show  us  great  kindness,  and  inform 
us  that  Mombera's  army  was  to  attack  them  and 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  WORK 


55 


us.  Od  several  occasions  the  neighbours  set 
watch  at  night  and  made  preparations  against 
being  attacked.  Our  friends  at  Bandawe  had 
anxious  times  too,  on  our  account.  Once  the 
letter-carriers  coming  up  were  informed  of  the 
expected  attack  at  a  village  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  tribe,  and  in  fear  returned  to  Bandawe  with- 
out coming  near  us,  and  our  friends  were  left  in 
doubt  as  to  our  safety. 

It  was  in  the  end  of  1885  that  the  first  ex- 
pressed evidence  was  given  that  the  Gospel  was 
winning  its  way  into  any  heart.  At  the  close  of 
the  boys'  meeting  on  a  Sunday  evening,  Mr  Koyi 
had  the  joy  of  hearing  from  Mawalera,  who  had 
been  in  his  employment,  that  he  wanted  to  pray 
to  God.  After  he  had  poured  out  his  heart  in 
broken  accents  others  joined  in  the  exercise,  ask- 
ing that  God  would  teach  them  to  pray,  and  give 
them  hearts  to  love  and  fear  Him. 

Notwithstanding  this  new  joy  and  the  strength 
it  brought  us,  we  were  soon  in  deep  anxiety  on 
account  of  the  persecution  which  was  levelled  at 
the  youths  who  had  begun  to  confess  Christ 
among  their  fellows.  In  Matabel eland  no  sooner 
did  a  native  confess  Christ  than  the  chief  ordered 
his  execution,  and  at  that  time  we  were  reading 
about  the  burning  of  converts  at  Uganda.  We 
told  our  young  friends  these  things  and  asked 


156  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

them  to  count  the  cost.  They  were  not  borne 
up  by  any  unusual  emotion,  but  they  expressed 
themselves  prepared  to  witness  for  Christ.  The 
occasion  was  seized  by  Chisevi,  one  of  the  Chipa- 
tula  clan  (our  neighbours  already  referred  to)  as 
suitable  for  our  overthrow  on  account  of  our  re- 
fusal to  enrich  them.  He  went  secretly  to  Mom- 
bera  and  informed  him  of  what  had  taken  place. 
Mombera  showed  his  aversion  to  the  informer 
and  his  great  friendship  for  us,  by  receiving  the 
report  without  a  word.  Afterwards  on  a  visit  to 
the  station  he  referred  to  it,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  boys  was  defended  by  Mr  Koyi,  and  beyond 
the  persecution  which  the  boys  met  with,  no  evil 
resulted  as  we  feared  might  have  been  the  case  at 
the  time. 

The  year  had  seen  our  hearts  bowed  down  in 
sorrow  by  the  death  of  our  brother  Sutherland, 
whose  life  and  work  are  referred  to  at  length  in 
another  chapter.  We  had  now  at  its  close  the 
joy  of  seeing  the  ingathering  of  the  first-fruits  of 
the  work,  in  which  he  was  for  a  time  associated 
with  Messrs  Koyi,  Williams,  and  myself,  before 
another  cloud  was  cast  over  us  by  the  death  of 
Mr  George  Rollo,  who  had  just  come  from  Scot- 
land to  begin  work  at  Bandawe.  He  arrived  on 
Mission  duty  at  Njuyu  on  December  21st,  suffer- 
ing  from    fever,    which,    with    one   day's   inter- 


MISSION  LIFE  AND  JVORK  157 

mission,  continued  till  the  28tli  when  he  died. 
As  marking  the  attitude  of  the  people  towards 
us,  when  Mombera  came  to  know  of  his  illness 
he  requested  us  to  take  him  away  lest  he  should 
die  in  their  country,  and  when  he  died  we  were 
accused  of  bringing  him  to  the  station  to  die, 
in  order  to  involve  them  in  trouble  which  they 
ignorantly  feared  might  come  to  them  on  account 
of  the  death.  They  proposed  that  we  should 
take  the  body  away  and  bury  it  at  Bandawe,  but 
eventually  a  grave  was  opened  near  the  station, 
and  the  object-lesson  of  a  Christian  burial  given 
to  the  natives,  who  gathered  together  at  a  dis- 
tance and  looked  on. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    HAIN    QUESTION    AND    ITS    RESULTS 

MY  journal  for  1886  opens  with  this  entry, — 
''Jan.  3.  In  bed  three  days  with  fever." 
Notwithstanding  the  unwearied  assistance  ren- 
dered by  Messrs  Koyi  and  M^Callum  during 
the  strain  of  nursing  Mr  Rollo  throughout  the 
week  of  his  fatal  illness,  I  was  worn  out,  and  I 
had  a  sharp  attack  of  fever  myself,  the  usual 
result  of  over-anxiety  and  fatigue.  Thus  began 
the  year  that  was  destined  to  be  one  of  sorrow 
and  of  joy  for  those  at  Njuyu,  and  of  the  triumph 
of  the  Gospel  among  the  Ngoni. 

About  this  time  the  station  went  by  the  name 
of  "  Ekusiuda-nyeriweni,"  a  term  which  cannot 
be  translated  in  polite  language.  The  name  was 
given  by  Mombera,  and  although  it  was  accepted 
as  a  bad  one  by  the  people,  he  did  not  mean  it 
thus.  It  arose  out  of  the  frequent  complaints 
which  people  took  to  him  of  our  supposed  evil 
powers.  We  were  accused  of  all  the  family  dis- 
asters ;  the  non -success  in  battle;  the  death  of 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     159 

cattle,  and  the  running  away  of  slaves,  or  what- 
ever evil  came  among  the  people.  Mombera, 
who  as  may  be  seen  was  a  believer  in  us,  became 
so  irritated  at  their  numerous  charges  that  he 
said,  "  The  people  are  surely  comfortable  now 
that  they  have  got  a  "  Ekusinda-nyeriweni." 
The  rebuke  was  levelled  at  them  and  not  at  us, 
but  the  name  stuck  to  us  for  a  long  time,  until 
we  got  a  new  name  from  the  councillors  which 
will  be  mentioned  further  on. 

As  we  were  treated  with  suspicion  it  was 
doubtful  what  effect  our  having  brought  a  horse 
into  the  country  would  have.  Messrs  M^Callum 
and  Kollo  had  come  up  with  a  horse  which  was 
the  first  that  the  natives  had  ever  seen.  Before 
they  actually  arrived  the  commotion  over  this 
strange  animal  which  they  were  riding  was  very 
great ;  and  wild  and  absurd  stories  as  to  its  ap- 
pearance and  behaviour  went  round  the  country. 
It  was  said  to  have  only  one  eye,  which  when 
turned  on  one  felled  him  to  the  ground ;  it  was 
as  tall  as  the  highest  tree ;  its  feet  crushed 
houses  and  people  ;  its  bounding  step  enabled  it 
to  jump  over  mountains  and  rivers  ;  it  had  a  tail 
which  moved  continually  and  smote  people  to 
the  earth.  Such  were  the  wild  impressions 
which  this  horse  made  on  the  ignorant  people, 
who  had  only  heard  of  it  from  others  as  it  ap- 


i6o  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

proached  the  villages.  Although,  when  it  was 
seen,  the  people  became  intelligently  interested 
in  it,  we  were  in  difficulties  as  to  pasturing  the 
animal.  Complaints  were  lodged  that  we  allowed 
it  to  go  near  their  villages,  so  that  child-bearing- 
women  could  not  come  out,  the  belief  being  that 
the  strange  animal  would  lead  to  the  birth  of 
monsters.  We  were  even  advised  not  to  allow 
it  to  come  near  the  herds  of  cattle  for  the  same 
reason.  But  gradually  their  fears  subsided,  and 
instead  of  being  regarded  as  an  evil  thing,  the 
people  came  long  distances  to  see  the  wonderful 
animal. 

Although,  as  mentioned  in  the  previous  chapter, 
Chisevi's  informing  the  chief  about  the  youths 
who  were  coming  to  us  and  praying,  had  not  led 
to  an  attack  upon  them  as  was  at  one  time 
threatened,  the  persecution  they  had  to  suffer 
was  so  great  that  when  they  desired  to  be  taught 
to  read  they  were  afraid  to  come  by  day,  and  so 
they  came  under  cover  of  night.  At  first  the 
three  sons  of  Kalengo,  a  witch-doctor,  who  was 
our  nearest  neighbour,  came.  Their  names  were 
Chitezi,  Mawalera  and  Makara.  We  spent  several 
hours  together  every  evening,  and  they  made 
rapid  progress  in  reading  and  writing.  They 
were  also  instructed  more  fully  in  Christian 
truth.     The  devotion  of  these  youths  was  most 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     16 1 

marked,  and  as  we  watched  their  minds  opening 
under  instruction,  and  their  hearts  and  con- 
sciences coming  under  the  deepening  influence 
of  God's  Spirit,  we  felt  stronger  and  more  hopeful 
in  our  work  which  was  so  liable  to  be  stopped  by 
the  superstitious  clamourings  of  the  people.  But 
Mombera  was  no  doubt  cognisant  of  all  that 
went  on,  and  it  was  noticeable  that  he  began  to 
look  upon  Chitezi  as  our  man.  He  being  the 
only  one  of  the  three  who  was  married  could  be 
accorded  the  place  of  a  man,  and  so  Mombera 
and  we  had  him  as  a  common  messenger  on 
nearly  all  occasions  of  communications  passing 
between  us.  It  was  a  gratification  to  see  the 
respect  which  Mombera  paid  to  Chitezi  even 
after  he  had  thus  cast  in  his  lot  with  us.  Chi- 
tezi's  father  was  much  respected,  and  Chitezi 
himself  had  but  lately  been  distinguished  in 
several  fights  and  had  received  some  special 
marks  of  the  chiefs  appreciation  of  his  courage 
and  prowess.  Yet  his  turning  to  us,  while 
against  the  expressed  desire  of  the  council,  did 
not  lead  to  Mombera  (who  knew  all)  turning 
against  him  or  us  at  that  time.  Many  other 
things  were  known  which  betokened  that  the 
mind  of  the  chief  as  an  individual  leaned  towards 
our  work,  however  much  he  spoke  in  public  to 
the  contrary.     He  had  a  dual  nature, — on  the 

L 


1 62  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

one  liand  he  was  set  to  curse  the  work  on  behalf 
of  his  advisers,  while  for  himself,  he  was,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  serving  God's  purposes 
and  helping  it  on  in  many  ways.  On  many  oc- 
casions we  had  to  thank  God  for  the  presence  of 
even  the  heathen  Mombera  on  the  throne. 

When  these  youths  met  for  prayer  it  was  very 
touching  to  hear  them  plead  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  their  father  the  witch-doctor,  and  for 
their  friends,  their  chief,  and  head-men.  They 
had,  as  youths,  understood  the  worship  of  the 
ancestral  spirits,  and  appreciated  the  position  of 
prayer  in  the  new  life.  It  was  a  powerful 
inspiration  in  this  exercise  when  they  appre- 
hended God  as  Father,  ruling,  guiding,  and  sus- 
taining the  world,  and  the  need  and  opportunity 
of  coming  to  Him  in  calm  as  well  as  in  storm, 
in  prosperity  as  well  as  in  adversity ;  because  in 
the  ancestral  worship  they  did  not  require  to 
think  of  the  spirits  except  in  case  of  sickness, 
famine  or  drought.  It  was  very  interesting  to 
watch  the  development  of  their  minds  under  the 
influence  of  the  truth  of  Scripture,  and  how  the 
mind,  accustomed  to  slavery  and  the  relative 
positions  of  master  and  slave,  chief  and  vassal, 
which  the  system  entailed,  naturally  assumed 
the  same  forms  under  the  spiritual  kingdom. 
While  they  acknowledged  God  as  Father,  under 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     163 

fuller  instruction  in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  idea  of  Him  as  "  Great  owner  of  power," 
"  Owner,"  "  Chief,"  was  what  came  naturally  to 
them,  and  by  these  terms  they  usually  addressed 
Him. 

It  was  an  unspeakable  relief  to  us  when 
we  had  actual  members  of  the  tribe  to  consult 
with  on  the  spiritual  phases  of  our  work,  who 
were  able  to  read  the  meaning  of  the  many  dis- 
quieting things  which  occurred  around  us  in  the 
behaviour  of  the  people.  We  felt  there  was  a 
bond  between  us  not  born  of  earth  or  earthly 
power,  and  in  the  exercise  of  prayer  we  could 
agree  as  touching  anything  we  asked  of  the 
Father,  and  even  then  we  could  count  six, — a 
European,  two  Kafirs,  and  three  Ngoni,  —  as 
with  one  heart  and  mind  desiring  the  coming  of 
Christ's  Kingdom.  There  have  been  many  joy- 
ous seasons  in  my  experience  of  the  work  since, 
but  none  have  left  such  an  impression  on  my 
mind  as  those  of  the  time  we  write  of.  Our 
anxieties  were  unceasing;  our  position  in  the 
tribe  insecure  ;  our  efforts  all  but  fruitless  among 
the  great  mass  of  heathen  ;  our  bodies  frequently 
racked  by  fever  and  sickness ;  we  had  but  occa- 
sional communications  from  home ;  but  after 
dark  the  three  Ngoni  youths  came  to  join  with 
us  in  prayer  for  the  work.      They  had  staked 


1 64  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

their  safety  and  their  position  in  the  tribe  in 
accepting  Christ.  They  had  their  temptations 
and  their  fears  to  relate,  and  we  could  hold  com- 
mon converse  on  the  outcome  of  events,  and 
encourage  one  another  in  our  trying  circum- 
stances. Hallowed,  indeed,  were  those  hours  in 
the  stillness  of  night,  and  as  we  knew  not  what 
a  day  would  bring  forth,  but  continued  in  prayer, 
we  are  now  able  to  look  back  and  see  how  prayer 
was  answered,  and  in  that  little  sanctuary  in  the 
dear  old  house  in  Njuyu  the  faith  of  that  little 
company  has  brought,  by  the  mercy  and  over- 
ruling hand  of  God,  a  rich  return. 

There  is  one  phase  of  Mission  life  and  work 
which  is  not  often  written  upon,  but  which  ought 
to  be  mentioned.  At  home  men  and  women  are 
called  to  volunteer  for  the  mission  field  prepared 
for  sacrifice,  and  too  often  the  idea  of  a  sacrifice 
which  must  be  made  is  the  one  most  prominent 
at  such  times.  It  is  a  false  position  in  which  to 
put  the  work.  Why  not  keep  before  the  mind 
the  advantages  to  one's  spiritual  life  in  the  work  ^ 
I  am  not  the  only  one  who  has  felt  that  the  Gos- 
pels and  Epistles,  as  well  as  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures,  have  a  fresher  interest  and  newer 
meaning  to  us  when  we  are  teaching  the  simple 
minds  of  the  heathen ;  and  that  the  exercises  of 
prayer  and  faith  in  the  circumstances  of  the  new 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS    165 

life  are  more  real  and  refreshing.  One  learns  the 
simplicity  and  reality  of  trust  in  God  when  he 
hears  a  native,  who  may  only  have  a  few  ideas  or 
facts  of  divine  truth,  pouring  out  his  heart  to 
God  in  earnest  request,  and  waiting  with  expec- 
tancy the  answer  to  his  prayer.  Does  God  hear 
prayer  ?  Our  three  lads  had  learned  as  much  of 
the  truth  as  enabled  tliem  to  believe  and  ask, 
and  one  of  many  special  objects  prayed  for,  may 
be  stated  as  it  occurred  and  confirmed  their  and 
our  faith  in  the  presence  and  power  of  God,  and 
His  care  of  the  work. 

The  occasion  was  when  the  increasing  wealth 
and  number  of  his  wives  compelled  the  chief  to 
make  choice  of  an  additional  royal  residence. 
He  had  seven  or  eight  royal  kraals,  and  now  he 
w^as  to  found  another,  Tt  must  be  remembered 
that  all  this  time  the  whole  tribe,  save  the  three 
youths  whom  we  were  instructing,  were  given  to 
war  and  raiding  other  tribes.  It  was  the  custom 
in  connection  with  the  founding  of  a  new  kraal, 
to  call  up  the  army  and  make  a  raid  on  some 
tribe,  setting  the  young  warriors  belonging  to  the 
village  chosen  as  a  royal  residence  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  battle,  in  order  to  test  their  valour 
and  ability  to  protect  their  chief  in  his  new  kraal. 
From  what  we  were  told  we  knew  such  occasions 
to  be  times  of  great  excitement  in  the  country, 


1 66  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  the  war  following  a  very  bloody  one.  The 
young  bloods  had  to  "wash  their  spears  in  blood," 
and  it  was  their  ambition  to  have  an  important 
battle  to  prove  their  valour.  Our  boys  were 
greatly  distressed — especially  Chitezi,  who  would 
have  to  take  his  place  in  the  Hoho  regiment  under 
the  Chipatulas  who  were  our  oppressors.  The 
turmoil  went  on  for  some  days,  and  we  heard 
that  the  army  was  to  be  despatched  to  attack  the 
Tonga  on  the  Lake  shore  around  Bandawe.  On 
the  day  when  the  royal  entrance  into  the  new 
village  was  to  be  made,  we  hoped  that  some 
opportunity  might  be  had  for  Mr  Koyi  to  speak 
to  Mombera  to  advise  him  against  sending  out 
the  army,  and  we  prayed  that  Mombera  might  be 
restrained  from  ordering  war.  We  heard  that 
Mombera  had  been  debarred  from  entering  his 
village  by  the  armed  youths,  who  demanded  of 
him  an  order  to  go  out  and  "  wash  their  spears 
in  blood,"  that  the  chief  had  refused  and  was 
sitting  outside  determined  to  occupy  the  village 
without  giving  a  pledge  to  order  out  the  army. 
The  armed  escort  that  accompanied  the  chief  to 
the  new  residence  were  in  an  excited  state,  and 
were  threatening  to  fight  the  others  who  were 
resisting  his  entrance.  As  darkness  began  to  fall 
we  could  see  bodies  of  men  rushing  hither  and 
thither  among  the  villages  beyond  the  river,  and 


THE  RAIN  (QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     167 

we  feared  that  it  would  end  in  disaster.  We  de- 
cided that  Chitezi  should  go  over  to  quietly  watch 
the  course  of  events,  he  having  volunteered  to  do 
so,  and  that  we  should  continue  in  prayer  for  the 
prevention  of  war.  He  returned  about  ten  o'clock 
and  reported  that  after  a  time  of  great  excitement 
the  chief  was  ultimately  allowed  to  enter,  and  the 
warriors  dispersed.  We  ended  our  day  of  prayer 
by  acknowledging  in  praise  the  goodness  of  God. 
The  event  made  an  impression  on  the  minds 
of  all,  and  our  faithful  three  had  their  faith 
strengthened. 

If  it  should  seem  strange  that  a  band  of  youths 
should  so  oppose  their  chief,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  war  overruled  everything  else.  An 
armed  party  could  steal  cattle  or  anything 
it  wanted  with  impunity,  and  I  have  heard 
Ng'onomo,  when  dancing,  calling  Mombera  a 
coward  because  he  did  not  order  the  army  out. 
It  was  an  understood  thing,  and  would  be  done 
in  order  to  give  evidence  of  a  man's  readiness  to 
serve  his  chief  at  any  cost,  and  it  was  always 
accepted  in  that  sense. 

We  were  never  long  without  some  pressing 
trouble,  and  sometimes  the  anxiety  was  con- 
tinued through  many  weeks.  The  anxious 
position  no  doubt  frequently  induced  or  accen- 
tuated   the    attacks    of    fever    which    all    the 


i68  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

members  suffered  from  in  those  days,  the 
attacks  being  more  frequent  and  severe  than 
those  of  later  years. 

The  question  of  a  famine  in  consequence  of 
drought  was  agitating  the  minds  of  all  in  the 
tribe.  A  few  showers  fell  in  the  November  of 
the  previous  year  (1885),  and  the  people  had 
planted  their  maize.  It  sprang  up  for  a  fort- 
night, and  then,  as  the  rains  ceased  until  the 
18th  of  January,  the  corn  was  burned  up  and 
the  people  began  to  be  greatly  excited.  The 
usual  period  when  rain  may  be  expected  is 
from  about  the  end  of  November  to  the  end  of 
March,  so  that  towards  the  middle  of  January, 
when  the  early  sowing  had  been  fruitless,  and 
day  after  day  the  sun  beat  down  from  a  cloud- 
less sky  and  rendered  cultivation  impossible  in 
the  absence  of  rain,  the  excitement  of  the 
people,  with  famine  staring  them  in  the  face, 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

However  irrational  the  native  may  be  in  his 
beliefs  and  practices  he  understands  that  there 
is  no  effect  without  a  cause.  In  the  worship 
of  the  ancestral  spirits  when  they  are  supposed 
to  cause  evil  by  being  displeased,  the  witch- 
doctor and  the  family  or  community  recognise 
their  responsibility,  and  possibly  misconduct,  to- 
wards the  spirit  of  the  house  or  the  tribe.     The 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  JND  ITS  RESULTS     169 

practice  of  the  witch-doctor  is  a  fattening  one, 
as  he  not  only  gets  his  fee  but  a  good  piece  of 
the  meat  he  recommends  them  to  sacrifice  to  the 
displeased  god.  When  we  became  "Ekusinda- 
nyeriweni  "  we  expected  that  the  witch-doctors, 
as  well  as  the  people  generally,  would  hold  us  to 
be  the  cause  of  the  drought.  For  some  weeks 
we  were  left  ominously  alone  by  most  people, 
and  especially  by  those  about  the  chief,  but  our 
faithful  three  managed  to  keep  us  informed  of 
what  was  passing  in  their  meetings  about  the 
cause  of  the  drought.  We  were  indeed  blamed, 
and  particularly  as  I  had  erected  instruments  in 
the  garden  to  control  the  weather.  These  (mete- 
orological instruments)  I  was  known  to  consult 
morning  and  evening  and  to  write  in  a  book 
what  I  was  doing.  At  this  time,  of  course,  a 
book  was  in  their  eyes  nothing  but  an  instru- 
ment of  divination,  and  as  will  be  seen,  they  be- 
lieved that  it  told  us  what  was  in  their  minds. 
They  spoke  about  "The  Book,"  as  the  Bible 
was  so  often  referred  to  by  us,  and  they  thought 
there  was  only  one  book. 

We  were  not  very  anxious  for  a  time.  They 
were  sacrificing  cattle  to  their  ancestral  spirits — 
household  and  tribal — and  although  there  was  a 
general  clamour  about  our  being  the  cause  of 
the  drought  we  were  not  molested.     But  as  the 


170  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

drought  continued  and  their  sacrifices  were  un- 
availing, more  attention  was  paid  to  us  and  our 
actions.  Some  people  would  stand  at  the  hedge 
looking  into  the  garden,  and  discuss  the  probable 
action  of  the  meteorological  instruments  to  which 
they  had  seen  me  attending  regularly.  On  one 
occasion  old  Maumba,  a  councillor  of  the  chief, 
came  to  talk  about  the  rain  not  coming  and  said, 
"  Why  do  you  not  give  the  rain  ?  What  does 
your  Book  tell  you  is  in  our  hearts  about  you 
just  now  ? " 

At  length  a  meeting  of  the  doctors  was  called 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  drought.  Till  then 
I  hardly  expected  that  the  doctors  had  a  good 
word  to  say  of  us ;  but  when,  in  answer  to  the 
question  whether  we  caused  the  rain  to  stop, 
they  made  a  united  statement  that  we  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  it,  we  were  greatly  surprised  and 
pleased.  The  doctors  were  divided  in  their 
opinion  as  to  the  cause  of  the  drought.  One 
party  made  the  cause  out  to  be  the  strife  be- 
tween Mombera  and  Mtwaro  his  brother,  as 
the  spirits  were  highly  displeased  therewith. 
Another  party  said  that  the  spirits  were  at  war 
among  themselves,  and  the  rain  would  come 
when  they  finished.  The  third  party  said  it  was 
true  that  the  spirits  were  displeased,  but  not  on 
account  of  Mombera's  quarrel  with  Mtwaro,  but 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     171 

because  the  tribe  had  given  no  heed  to  the  mes- 
sage which  we  had  brought  to  them.  He  in- 
stanced what  seems  to  be  a  fact,  that  one  of  their 
fathers,  Avho  died  while  they  were  at  Tanganyika, 
and  who  had  never  seen  a  white  man,  told  them 
that  in  the  course  of  their  wanderings  they  would 
meet  with  white  men  who  would  be  their  friends, 
and  to  whom  they  must  listen  and  be  friendly. 
They  were  thus  neglecting  the  advice  given  them, 
and  the  spirits  were  angry.  It  did  not,  however, 
occur  to  them  that  to  obey  was  better  than  sacri- 
fice ;  so  they  renewed  their  ofierings  to  appease 
the  spirits,  and  after  waiting  for  a  time  they  were 
still  disappointed.  Several  talked  to  us  in  a 
quiet,  suspicious  way,  as  if  insinuating  that  we 
had  better  send  rain  to  save  ourselves.  At 
length  several  councillors  and  a  large  number 
of  men  came  over  to  us  from  the  chiefs  place. 
They  came  to  ask  us  to  pray  to  our  God  to  send 
rain,  as  their  own  methods  had  entirely  failed. 

The  councillor  who  spoke  made  an  apology  why 
they  had  not  settled  the  question  of  schools.  We 
asked  him  whether  he  had  come  to  speak  on  that 
question  or  about  the  drought.  He  said  it  was 
the  drought,  so  we  said  he  did  not  need  to  intro- 
duce the  subject  of  schools,  as  that  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  drought,  although  we  were  glad 
to  see  that  they  still  retained  their  sense  that 


172  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

they  had  not  treated  the  question  as  they  ought 
to  have  done.  We  asked  them  if  they  came  to 
us  because  they  believed  that  we  had  the  power 
of  giving  or  withholding  rain,  and  one  of  them 
replied,  "  We  here  to-day  do  not  think  so,  but 
I  cannot  say  that  there  are  none  who  think  so. 
We  believe  it  is  the  spirits."  We  said,  "  Why 
do  you  come  asking  us  to  pray  for  rain  when 
you  do  not  believe  in  our  God?"  "Oh,"  he 
said,  "just  to  see  which  is  best."  We  asked  if 
they  would  give  up  their  own  beliefs,  and  permit 
us  to  instruct  them  in  the  Word  of  God  if  they 
found  that  our  God  answered  our  prayers;  but 
no  one  replied.  We  then  for  more  than  an  hour 
preached  the  Word  to  them,  explaining  how  their 
ignorance  made  them  think  God  was  only  to  be 
sought  when  our  own  efforts  failed.  We  pointed 
out  that  they  themselves  believed  that  when  the 
spirits  caused  any  calamity  or,  as  they  thought, 
withheld  rain,  they  knew  there  was  a  reason  for 
it,  and  the  doctors  were  called  to  find  out  the 
reason,  and  in  all  cases  it  was  in  themselves ; 
and  so,  before  they  could  expect  rain,  or  what 
they  wanted,  they  first  offered  sacrifices  to 
satisfy  the  spirits ;  that  we  believed  it  was  for 
something  in  us  that  God  withheld  his  blessings, 
and  so  it  was  needful  for  us  to  repent ;  and  that 
this  feeling  of  the  necessity  of  repentance  and  of 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     173 

a  sacrifice  proved  that  we  were  all  similarly  con- 
stituted, and  that  for  us  God  had  provided  the 
sacrifice  in  the  person  of  His  own  Son.  It  was 
a  splendid  opportunity  for  preaching  and  we  had 
close  attention. 

We  sympathised  with  them,  and  said  we  would 
make  special  prayer  for  rain  in  our  meeting  next 
day.  They  wanted  us  to  go  over  and  pray  in  the 
chief's  cattle  kraal ;  but  we  refused,  for  the  reason 
that  we  wanted  the  people  to  come  to  our  service 
on  the  station,  and  did  not  wish  the  Bible  to  be 
over  at  the  chief's  on  such  an  occasion,  because 
they  attached  a  superstitious  importance  to  the 
Book.  While  we  were  engaged  speaking,  a  war- 
party  appeared  on  the  road  some  distance  from 
the  house,  and  engaged  in  war-dances.  We  did 
not  take  any  notice  of  it,  although  we  knew  it 
was  a  signal  of  defiance  to  us  for  something ;  and, 
as  we  afterwards  learned,  it  was  held  in  readiness 
so  that  if  we  had  received  them  as  they  expected 
by  saying,  "  You  have  refused  our  word  for  these 
years,  why  do  you  come  now  ? "  it  would  be  called 
up  to  dance  in  front  of  the  house,  that  being  the 
only  thing  that  the  Ngoni  can  do  when  they  are 
nonplussed.  The  councillors  who  were  with  us 
were  uneasy,  very  uneasy,  when  the  party  came 
in  sight,  and  no  doubt  felt  relieved  that  we  did 
not  run  for  our  fire-arms,  like  the  neighbouring 


174  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

villagers,  who  were  listening  in  the  verandah,  and 
who,  on  going  home,  found  that  their  wives  and 
children  had  fled  up  the  hills  behind  the  station. 
We  were  never  able  to  discover  their  real  in- 
tention in  coming  with  a  regiment  of  armed  men. 
It  was  only  known  to  the  councillors,  and  Mom- 
bera  afterwards  said  he  did  not  know  either ;  but 
there  may  have  been  some  idea  of  doing  more 
than  frightening  us  by  it,  because  we  saw  another 
regiment  making  for  Chinyera,  where  Mr  Williams 
was  at  the  time,  and  it  remained  in  his  vicinity 
for  some  time.  Apparently  some  signal  was 
made,  and  it  returned  to  the  chief's  kraal  soon 
after  the  deputation  withdrew.  Great  was  the 
excitement  among  the  Hoho  people  around  the 
station,  and  notwithstanding  their  conduct  to- 
wards us,  they  now  declared  that  our  cause  was 
theirs,  and  that  as  they  had  brought  us  into 
the  country  they  would  have  to  die  with  us, 
as  that  had  been  determined,  they  said,  by  the 
councillors,  should  we  not  be  able  to  give  rain. 
That  night,  as  during  the  evening,  armed  men 
had  been  gathering  at  the  chief's  kraal,  which 
was  only  a  mile  distant  across  the  valley  and  in 
view  of  the  station,  so  neither  we  nor  the  natives 
near  us  retired  to  rest.  It  was  affirmed  by  all 
that  we  were  to  be  attacked,  and  the  natives  set 
watchmen  on  all  the  ant-hills  between  us  and  the 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     175 

river.  We  did  not  so  much  fear  an  organised 
attack,  as  that  some  of  the  young  bloods,  excited 
by  the  war-dancing,  might  break  out  and  fire  the 
station,  in  the  hope  of  really  inducing  war,  and 
so  "we  made  our  prayer  unto  our  God,  and  set  a 
watch  against  them." 

A  touching  word  was  spoken  by  old  Kalengo, 
the  father  of  our  three  adherents,  who  sat  till  far 
into  the  night  with  us  at  our  house.  He  was 
a  slave  of  the  Ngoni  from  the  Senga  country, 
and  had  known  the  position  of  a  slave  in 
the  tribe,  till  he  became  a  witch-doctor.  He 
feared  the  wild  warriors  who  were  collecting 
at  the  chief's  place,  and  said,  "  Well,  I'll  go 
home  to  my  own  village  now.  If  we  hear  the 
sound  of  war  we  will  come  to  your  house  to  die 
with  you.  We  were  nothing  at  all  to  anyone  till 
you  came  among  us ;  but  at  your  house  all  are  on 
the  same  level — we  are  not  slaves." 

There  was  a  large  congregation  in  the  church 
the  next  day,  councillors  and  others  having  come 
from  headquarters.  Mr  Koyi  conducted  the  ser- 
vice, and  expounded  the  ten  commandments,  as 
we  do  at  every  church-service.  I  addressed  the 
people,  telling  them  of  droughts  in  South  Africa, 
and  such  as  we  have  at  home  sometimes,  and  the 
services  held  by  Christians  every  year  to  thank 
God  for  the  harvest.     I  read  Isa.  lix.  1-8,  and 


176  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

connected  that  passage  and  Isa.  Ixviii.  6  with 
Malachi  iii.  10,  from  which  I  spoke,  Mr  Koyi 
acting  as  interpreter.  I  pointed  out  what  God 
desired  in  place  of  sacrifices,  and  as  they  would 
never  think  of  praying  to  the  spirits  without  first 
sacrificing,  so  we  had  to  learn  from  God's  Word 
how  we  are  to  prepare  our  hearts  to  seek  Him. 
A  councillor  who  had  killed  a  man  just  before 
then  was  present,  and  as  I  read,  "Your  hands 
are  defiled  with  blood,"  he  cried  out,  "  He  is 
speaking  out  of  his  own  head ;  that  is  not  in 
the  Book."  It  showed,  I  think,  that  his  con- 
science was  not  dead.  So  clearly  did  the  Bible 
describe  their  thoughts  and  feelings  that  they 
believed  that  we  knew  from  it  all  their  thoughts. 
None  of  the  warriors  had  come  to  the  service, 
and  as  they  continued  dancing  at  the  royal  kraal, 
we  determined  to  watch  again  at  night.  About 
four  in  the  morning  slight  rain  began  to  fall,  and 
we  retired  to  rest.  Next  day  we  had  agreed  to 
hold  another  service  to  pray  for  rain,  and  at  noon 
the  people  collected,  some  of  the  chief's  council- 
lors being  again  present.  At  two  o'clock,  before 
the  meeting  had  dispersed,  heavy  rain  fell.  This 
was  the  18  th  of  January,  and  seven  weeks  after 
the  rain  in  November.  The  incident  made  a 
profound  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the 
natives,  and  no  doubt  indirectly,  if  not  directly, 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     177 

advanced  our  work.  The  rain  dispersed  the 
assembled  warriors,  and  the  people  again  be- 
came engaged  in  planting  operations,  and  quiet 
ensued  for  a  time. 

A  few  weeks  after,  on  a  Sunday,  two  coun- 
cillors came  to  us  with  a  sheep  as  a  thank-offering 
for  the  rain.  We  refused  the  gift  as  we  dis- 
claimed having  regulated  the  rain,  and  because, 
as  we  pointed  out,  they  had  sacrificed  a  score  or 
more  cattle  to  the  spirits  and  received  no  rain 
from  them,  but  confessed  themselves  beaten, 
while  God,  who  had  alone  sent  rain  in  answer  to 
prayer,  was  to  be  paid  by  the  gift  of  a  sheep. 
They  heard  some  plain-speaking  and  preaching 
and  appeared  glad  when  we  allowed  them  to  go, 
taking  the  sheep  with  them.  The  common 
people,  who  now  began  to  be  bolder  in  their 
attendance  at  the  services,  felt  that  we  were 
being  slighted  too  much  by  the  councillors,  and 
such  an  incident  as  the  offering  of  the  sheep  was 
talked  of  far  and  near.  It  aided  greatly  in  the 
furtherance  of  our  interests,  as  all  believed  that 
by  our  prayers  we  could  give  or  withhold  rain, 
and  considered  that  we  should  have  accorded  to 
us  equal  rights  with  the  witch-doctors  whose 
incantations  had  so  signally  failed. 

The  Sabbath  meetings  now  became  more  firmly 
established,  as  the  presence  of  the  amaduna  at 

M 


!78  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

the  meetings  held  to  pray  for  rain  was  taken  by 
the  common  people  as  a  recognition  of  them,  and 
they  were  not  afraid  to  come.  The  effect  of  the 
rain-question  was  to  increase  the  interest  of  the 
people  in  the  Book,  and  we  were  able  greatly  to 
extend  our  area  of  evangelistic  work,  and  wher- 
ever we  found  the  head  of  a  village  willing  for  a 
service  to  be  held  we  visited  his  village  regularly 
and  preached.  The  attitude  of  the  people  towards 
us  was  more  respectful  and  hearty,  so  we  went 
on,  rejoicing  greatly.  At  the  end  of  February 
there  was  a  cessation  of  rain  for  about  a  week. 
Mombera  had  hanged  a  man  for  stealing  cattle, 
and  a  deputation  came  to  ask  if  we  were  offended 
■at  this  and  had  stopped  the  rain.  We  again  had 
the  ear  of  the  amaduna  and  tried  to  teach  them 
the  Word  of  God,  and  upbraided  them  for  having 
left  off  attending  the  services. 

That  rainy  season  was  a  remarkable  one,  and 
the  natives  still  remember  and  speak  of  it.  Rain 
fell  on  one  day  in  November,  nine  days  in 
January,  eleven  in  February,  twenty  in  March, 
and  four  in  April,  i.e.  on  forty-five  days,  and 
only  reached  the  exceptionally  small  amount  of 
nineteen  inches,  yet  the  best  harvest  I  have  seen 
in  Ngoniland  followed.  The  rain  fell  in  gentle 
showers  and  suited  the  character  of  the  country. 
The  natives  say  that  they  never  had  such  a  con- 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     179 

venient  rainy  season,  as  it  rained  at  night  and 
did  not  prevent  their  work  in  the  gardens  during 
the  day.  The  natives  usually  suffered  from  want 
of  corn  in  the  interval  between  sowing  and  reap- 
ing, as  insufficient  stores  were  made  to  carry 
them  on  to  the  harvest,  and  at  the  time  of  which 
we  write,  as  the  harvest  was  late  there  was  great 
hunger.  We  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  the 
Hoho  people,  who  had  been  very  troublesome  and 
unkind  to  us,  that  we  could  warmly  interest  our- 
selves in  their  life  and  try  to  help  them  in  time 
of  need.  We  distributed  a  considerable  quantity 
of  beads  among  them,  to  enable  them  to  trade 
with  those  who  might  have  food  for  sale.  I  am 
afraid  our  kindness  was  not  duly  appreciated  by 
all.  The  heads  of  the  villages  were  called  to  the 
house,  and  beginning  with  the  oldest  we  gave  out 
the  beads.  The  Chipatulas  were  consequently 
placed  among  the  last  and  were  very  indignant 
and  rude  to  us,  as  they  considered  we  had 
slighted  them  in  giving  to  others — and  to  slaves 
— before  giving  to  them.  The  encouragement 
received  from  these  men  a  little  later  on  was  not 
very  marked.  After  their  beads  were  used  up, 
and  the  hunger  still  continuing,  we  off'ered  to 
give  them  letters  to  our  friends  at  Bandawe  for 
which  they  would  get  loads  of  flour  if  they  would 
send  down  their  villagers,  but  we  were  told  that 


i8o  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

we  should  get  the  Tonga  who  usually  carry  our 
goods  to  bring  it  up,  and  they  would  receive  it. 
I  do  not  quote  these  incidents  as  illustrative  of 
all  the  natives,  but  for  many  a  day  it  seemed 
that  the  people  were  unable  to  appreciate  a  kind 
act,  and  took  it  as  an  exhibition  of  our  simplicity 
on  which  they  desired  to  impose  further. 

In  June  we  had  to  undergo  one  of  our  greatest 
trials  when  William  Koyi  was  removed  by  death. 
Not  till  then  had  1  fully  felt  the  responsibilities 
of  the  work,  or  so  great  a  sense  of  loneliness  and 
helplessness  among  the  Ngoni.  In  a  brief  bio- 
graphy of  our  friend  I  have  tried  to  tell  something 
of  our  loss  by  his  death,  and  how  I  loved  him,  so 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  more  in  this  place. 

While  we  were  mourning  the  death  of  our 
comrade,  Mr  Williams  and  I  were  rejoicing  that 
the  restrictions  on  our  work  were  being  removed, 
and  our  position  receiving  more  general  recogni- 
tion. It  was  while  Mr  Koyi  was  on  his  death- 
bed that  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  chief,  the 
sub-chiefs  (his  brothers),  and  their  head-men. 
For  some  years  there  had  been  a  feud  between 
Mombera  and  his  brother  Mtwaro  at  Ekwen- 
deni,  and  the  permission  we  had  asked  to  visit 
the  latter  had  always  been  refused.  As  he  was 
heir-apparent  it  seemed  to  us  advisable  to  make 
his  acquaintance,   and   we  regretted   Mombera's 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     i8i 

refusal.  In  the  middle  of  1886  the  action  of 
Mombera  in  having  consulted  us  in  regard  to 
the  rain,  and  seemingly  having  come  under  our 
power,  stirred  up  the  hatred  of  the  other  sections 
of  the  tribe.  A  desperate  attempt  was  made  by 
the  disaffected  in  the  council  to  overthrow  the 
chieftainship  of  Mombera  and  openly  follow  their 
own  ways.  Again  our  prayers  were  heard,  and 
after  the  turmoil  of  several  days,  the  matter 
ended  by  Mombera  and  Mtwaro  becoming  re- 
conciled, notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  some 
who  desired  the  enmity  to  exist,  in  order  to  aid 
their  effort  to  break  up  the  tribe  into  sections. 
The  four  brothers  pledged  their  friendship,  and 
the  kingdom  was  maintained  intact.  That  and 
other  matters  were  settled  in  open  council,  but 
the  question  of  our  presence  and  work  was  taken 
up  in  private  by  the  chief,  his  brothers,  and  the 
councillors.  This  was  no  doubt  owing  to  the 
presence  of  large  armed  escorts  which  had  come 
with  the  sub-chiefs ;  in  them  the  war  instinct 
was  active,  and  they  were  eager  for  the  excite- 
ment of  open  discussion. 

What  was  said  and  done  in  private  we  do  not 
know,  but  we  were  informed  next  day  by  a  depu- 
tation representing  each  party  in  the  council,  that 
we  must  understand  that  we  were  free  to  preach 
the  Gospel,  and  teach  the  children  in  every  part 


i82  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

of  the  country.  Tliey  expressed  the  hope  that, 
instead  of  confining  our  work  to  the  people 
around  one  station,  we  would  open  stations  in 
each  of  the  principal  divisions  of  the  tribe.  We 
learned  afterwards  that  Mombera  was  accused  of 
receiving  goods  from  us,  and  that  the  principal 
thought  in  their  minds  was,  that  by  having  a 
resident  white  man  at  each  sub-chiefs  village 
they  would  also  share  in  the  spoil.  There  was 
full  proof  of  this  eighteen  months  afterwards,  as 
will  be  seen  further  on ;  but  it  was  evident  also 
that  the  growth  of  popular  feeling  in  our  favour 
was  proving  an  uncomfortable  fact  in  the  mind 
of  the  chiefs,  and  they  were  compelled  to  open 
the  country  to  us.  I  wrote  home  at  the  time  as 
follows  : — "  I  can  point  to  no  particular  incident 
closely  connected  with  the  happy  change  in  the 
feelings  of  the  people ;  but  nothing  more  satis- 
factory can  be  said  than  that  the  cumulative 
force  of  the  Christian  life  and  teaching  of  those 
resident  here  has  slowly  but  surely  produced  its 
natural  effects  on  their  minds.  Various  incidents, 
such  as  the  rain  question  last  January,  could  be 
cited  as  distinct  stages  of  advance,  but  no  part  of 
our  work  has  been  without  its  power ;  and  I  be- 
lieve that  the  patient  waiting  of  the  past  years 
will  be  amply  justified  and  rewarded  in  the 
results  of  the  future. 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     183 

"  They  do  not  desire  to  engage  in  war,  and 
the  only  advocate  for  war  at  the  council  meeting 
was  shouted  down  by  the  assembled  councillors. 
Since  Mr  Koyi's  death  a  deputation  of  councillors 
came  from  the  chief,  on  account  of  a  rumour  hav- 
ing been  spread  that  since  the  country  here  seems 
to  kill  all  our  fellow-workers  we  would  now  leave. 
The  chief  sent  them  to  say  that  we  must  not 
leave,  but  consider  our  position  the  same  as  if 
their  special  friend  Mr  Koyi  had  lived.  To  us  a 
few  days  before  Mombera  said,  '  I  understand 
your  work  to  be  such  that  if  deaths  do  occur  it 
will  still  go  on.  God  gave  us  life,  and  He  can 
take  us  away  when  He  pleases,  and  we  cannot 
say  aught.'  We  assured  him  that  he  had  spoken 
rightly,  and  told  him  that  though  we  should  die 
there  would  be  others  who  would  carry  on  the 
work.  Though  teaching  was  proscribed,  we  have 
three  youths  reading  the  New  Testament,  and 
others  coming  on  rapidly.  Most  of  these  are 
also  earnestly  striving  to  know  God  and  walk 
in  His  ways,  and  from  among  these  we  will  find 
helpers  when  we  formally  open  school. 

"  Our  position  and  prospects  are  cheering.  Mr 
Williams  has  agreed  to  extend  his  engagement 
for  two  years  meantime ;  but  as  he  must  now 
reside  here  the  station  at  Chinyera  occupied  by 
him  will  be  closed,  except  on  Sundays,  when  one 


1 84  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

of  US  will  walk  over  and  conduct  services  at  one 
or  more  villages.  A  good  climate  and  extensive 
opportunities  for  service  can  be  offered  here,  and 
I  trust  the  Committee  will  be  able  speedily  to  fill 
the  place  of  Mr  Koyi.  We  should  with  another 
helper  be  able  now  to  itinerate,  which  is  a  method 
of  work  which  would  be  greatly  appreciated  here 
by  the  people.  To  fully  equip  the  station,  an 
ordained  missionar}^  should  be  sent,  for  we  have 
hopes  that  a  native  church  will  be  very  soon 
established  here." 

Mtwaro  had  also  a  personal  interest  in  becom- 
ing reconciled  to  Mombera  and  in  professing  an 
interest  in  us.  Some  time  before  he  had  sent  a 
messenger  to  me  requesting  my  presence  at  his 
kraal  in  order  to  treat  an  affection  in  his  left 
knee-joint.  I  sent  back  the  reply  that  I  would 
gladly  come  to  him  if  he  would  first  obtain  Mom- 
bera's  consent,  as  I  had  been  refused  permission 
to  visit  him.  He  (Mtwaro)  had  heard  of  the 
medical  work  and  desired  the  benefit  of  it  in 
his  own  case.  When  we  were  permitted,  as  I 
have  related,  to  visit  Mtwaro  I  went  to  him,  but 
medical  treatment  was  unsatisfactory  on  account 
of  the  superstition  of  his  head-men,  who  would 
not  allow  me  to  touch  or  examine  the  knee-joint. 
My  visit  enabled  me  to  know  the  expectations  of 
the  people,  and  their  begging  for  cloth  was  most 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     185 

irritating  and  trying,  but  was  satisfactory  in  so 
far  that  the  ice  was  broken  and  another  door 
opened  for  our  work.  I  was,  however,  not 
allowed  into  the  village,  but  had  to  pitch  my 
tent  outside  in  the  bush.  In  the  middle  of  the 
night  I  found  myself  alone,  with  the  hyenas  sniff- 
ing round  the  tent  at  my  elbow,  as  my  men  had 
crept  away  to  the  warmth  of  the  huts.  During 
the  day  the  people  crowded  round  the  tent,  and 
more  than  one  hand  could  be  seen  pushed  under 
the  canvas  at  one  time  to  pull  out  whatever  they 
could  grasp.  With  the  exception  of  Mr  John  W. 
Moir  who  had  visited  him  in  1879,  no  white  man 
had  met  Mtwaro  before  at  his  kraal. 

We  were  encouraged  when  harvest  came  round 
by  finding  among  the  people,  in  some  of  the 
villages  where  we  conducted  services,  a  desire  to 
have  a  special  meeting  to  thank  God  for  the  crop 
about  to  be  reaped.  They  said  God  had  given 
them  the  harvest,  and  they  should  thank  Him 
for  it  before  they  began  to  reap.  Thus  for  the 
first  time  in  Ngoniland,  on  the  people's  initiative, 
a  heathen  custom, — the  feast  of  first-fruits, — was 
replaced  by  a  service  of  praise  to  Almighty  God. 
It  was  the  more  encourag^ing  as  it  came  from 
the  villagers  among  whom  the  Word  had  been 
longest  preached,  and  was  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  ignorant  talk  of  those  who  were  not  in- 


1 86  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

structed.  A  large  and  hearty  service  was  held, 
and  then  they  set  about  gathering  in  their  crops. 

In  August  I  left  for  Mandala  and  returned 
with  my  wife  in  the  beginning  of  October.  The 
reception  accorded  us  on  our  arrival  was  very 
warm,  and  an  explanation  was  given  of  the 
scanty  respect  shown  on  some  former  occasions. 
The  chief  said,  "  Yesterday  you  were  a  boy ;  to- 
day you  are  a  man  and  can  speak."  The  Ngoni 
accorded  the  privileges  of  manhood,  such  as 
transacting  of  business,  to  married  men,  and  as 
long  as  I  was  unmarried  it  was  contrary  to  their 
habit  to  have  to  treat  with  unmarried  persons 
whom  they  considered  to  be  boys.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly the  case  that  the  married  state  has 
been  more  helpful  to  the  progress  of  the  work 
than  the  unmarried  had  been. 

We  were  not  long  in  starting  a  school  when 
we  obtained  permission,  and  from  the  first  we 
had  two  natives,  who  were  able  to  read,  to  help 
us  in  the  work.  They  were  two  of  those  who 
had  been  taught  in  the  evenings  and  they  proved 
a  great  help.  After  the  first  fortnight,  the  whole 
of  the  sixty  children  attending  came  and  de- 
manded their  pay  for  learning  the  Book.  When 
they  found  they  were  not  to  be  paid,  they  refused 
to  come,  and  again  the  Chipatulas  showed  their 
hand  in  preventing  them  from  coming  because 


THE  RAIN  QUESTION  AND  ITS  RESULTS     187 

we  also  refused  to  pay  them  for  allowing  the 
children  to  come.  The  two  native  teachers,  how- 
ever, from  among  those  in  their  village  were 
able  to  collect  twenty- two  scholars,  and  so  again 
the  school  went  on,  that  being  the  number  in 
attendance  for  nearly  a  year. 

When  the  school  was  fairly  started,  Mombera 
sent  the  ominous  warning,  "  You  must  not  culti- 
vate your  garden  merely  in  one  place,"  meaning 
that  the  jealousy  of  the  others  would  be  aroused 
if  we  did  not  immediately  begin  schools  in  their 
districts.  We  explained  that  on  account  of  dis- 
tance that  could  not  be  accomplished  until  we 
were  reinforced  from  home,  and  went  quietly  on 
with  our  work  at  Njuyu,  making  efforts  to  extend 
our  influence  in  the  new  districts.  Our  efforts 
in  the  latter  direction  revealed  how  much  the 
questions  of  war  and  cloth  were  mixed  up  with 
their  talk  about  schools  and  preaching,  and  dis- 
counted their  professed  acceptance  of  our  work. 
It  was  increasingly  evident  that  we  could  not 
rely  on  political  changes,  or  edicts  of  councils  to 
establish  the  work  among  them,  and  we  tlierefore 
bore  with  their  ignorant  conclusions  and  temporal 
expectations,  and  strove  to  have  the  spiritual 
power  in  the  work  which  would  establish  and 
extend  it.  As  we  had  been  long  in  getting  a 
commencement  made  in  school  work,  we  deter- 


1 88  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

mined  that  the  schools  should  be  evangelistic 
agencies,  and  the  workers  in  them  only  those 
whose  lives  were  consistent  with  their  profession. 
The  question  arose  regarding  one  who  was  a 
polygamist,  although  in  other  respects  consistent, 
being  allowed  to  teach,  and  his  offer  of  service 
was  declined  until  he  should  dissolve  his  poly- 
gamous connections.  In  after  years  the  wisdom 
of  this  step  was  revealed. 

The  year  1886  closed  with  one  school  in  pro- 
gress and  evangelistic  work  being  carried  on  at 
six  or  seven  centres.  A  new  era  had  begun  in 
Ngoniland. 


CHAPTER  IX 

IN  MEMORIAM  :    WILLIAM  KOYI 

FOR  the  following  particulars  of  the  early  life 
of  William  Koyi  I  am  indebted  to  Love- 
dale  :  Past  and  Present,  and  the  account  of  a 
humble  yet  worthy  convert  from  African  heath- 
enism will  be  read  with  interest,  "  AVilliam 
Koyi  was  born  of  heathen  parents  at  Thomas 
River  in  the  year  1846.  His  mother  died  a 
Christian.  He  left  his  home  during  the  cattle- 
killing  mania  in  1857,  and  went  to  seek  employ- 
ment among  the  Dutch  farmers  in  the  Colony, 
earning  half-a-crown  a  week  as  a  waggon-leader. 
About  this  time  his  father  died,  and  five  years 
later  his  mother  and  two  sisters.  He  left  his 
Dutch  employer  and  worked  for  five  years  at  one 
of  the  wool- washing  establishments  at  Uitenhage, 
and  was  promoted  to  be  overseer.  From  thence 
he  went  to  work  in  the  stores  of  Messrs  A.  C. 
Stewart  &  Co.,  Port  Elizabeth,  where  he  remained 
for  about  the  same  number  of  years.  He  had 
never  attended  school,  but  now  felt  the  need  of 


I90  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

education,  and  therefore  set  about  learning  to 
read  Kafir.  He  had  about  this  time,  1869,  been 
converted,  and  been  admitted  a  member  of  the 
Wesley  an  Church  at  Port  Elizabeth. 

"He  came  to  Lovedale  in  1871,  and  his  case 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  results  of  Lovedale 
wotk.  A  stray  leaf  of  '  Isigidi  mi  Sama-Xosa,' 
which  he  picked  up  and  read  during  his  dinner 
hour  at  Port  Elizabeth,  was  the  first  cause  of  his 
attention  being  directed  to  the  place.  On  enquiry 
he  found  it  was  150  miles  distant,  and  he  then 
resolved  to  walk  to  it  and  seek  admission.  He 
had  friends  at  Tshoxa,  Eev.  Mr  Liefeldt's  station, 
and  it  was  from  that  missionary  he  brought  a 
note  of  recommendation.  He  attended  the  first, 
second,  and  third  year's  classes  ;  and  during  his 
stay  at  Lovedale  he  was  active,  willing  and 
trustworthy,  caring  for  duty  and  not  for  popu- 
larity among  his  fellows. 

"  He  came  to  regard  Lovedale  as  his  home,  and 
to  be  regarded  as  a  humble  but  valuable  worker 
who  could  always  be  depended  on  and  needed  no 
pushing  to  his  work  or  pressure  to  keep  at  it  and 
do  his  best,  and  make  himself  generally  useful. 
After  a  time  he  was  appointed  assistant-overseer 
of  the  work-companies  of  the  native  boarders. 

"  In  1876  he  offered,  along  with  thirteen  others, 
to  go  to  Livingstonia  as  a  native  Evangelist ;  only 


IN  MEMO  RUM:  WILLIAM  KOTI         191 

four  iDcluding  himself  were  chosen.  He  has 
steadily  continued  these  nine  years,  at  the  work 
at  Lake  Nyasa,  and  shown  considerable  energy 
and  natural  intelligence,  and  has  thus  proved  to 
be  of  great  service  to  the  Free  Church  Mission  in 
Central  Africa. 

"  He  returned  to  Lovedale  for  a  time  to  recruit 
his  health,  and  in  1882  married  the  second  daughter 
of  the  late  Rev.  A.  Van  Rooyen  of  Blinkwater, 
Fort  Beaufort :  she  also  a  little  later  proceeded 
to  Lake  Nyasa,  and  is  now  engaged  there  in  the 
work  of  the  Mission." 

The  foregoing  account  was  in  type  in  1886,  in 
which  year  William  died  on  the  4th  June ;  and 
soon  after,  his  stricken  widow,  herself  in  bad 
health,  returned  to  the  Colony  to  her  own 
friends. 

William  served  the  cause  at  Cape  Maclear  in 
its  early  stage,  afterwards  removing  with  the 
others  to  Bandawe.  In  1877  he  accompanied 
Dr  Stewart  on  his  exploratory  journey  along  the 
west  side  of  Lake  Nyasa.  In  1878  he  accom- 
panied Dr  Laws  and  Mr  James  Stewart  on  their 
journey  of  further  exploration  of  the  west  side  of 
the  Lake,  and  on  their  meeting  with  Ngoni  on  the 
hills  to  the  north  of  Bandawe  he  was  invaluable 
to  the  party,  being  able  to  speak  their  language 
so  as  to  be  understood.     This  was  the  Mission's 


192  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

first  contact  with  the  Ngoni,  and  William  was 
the  first  to  speak  the  name  of  God  to  them.  In 
1879  he  accompanied  Mr  John  Moir  in  his  visit 
to  the  Ngoni  and  to  the  Basenga  on  the  Loangwa, 
several  days'  journey  west  of  Ngoni  land.  Later 
on  in  that  year  he  accompanied  Mr  Stewart  on 
his  journey  from  Ngoniland  northward  to  Karonga, 
and  westward  to  Lake  Tanganyika.  If  we  re- 
member that  Stanley  and  other  African  travel- 
lers have  noted  how  African  travel  proves  a  man's 
character  more  than  any  other  mode  of  life — and 
they  refer  to  Europeans — and  think  of  those  long 
and  arduous  journeys  of  William  Koyi,  during 
which  his  character  stood  the  test,  no  more  need 
be  said  as  to  the  genuineness  of  it.  Of  him,  Dr 
Laws,  under  whom  he  laboured  for  several  years, 
wrote  these  words :  "  William  has  been  a  true- 
hearted  and  earnest  worker  in  our  Mission  ;  and 
in  many  a  difficult  time  in  dealing  with  the  tribes 
among  whom  Mr  Stewart,  William  and  myself, 
were  travelling,  his  advice  and  help  proved  most 
useful.  In  1876  when  Dr  Stewart  of  Lovedale 
was  coming  up  to  join  us  and  be  at  a  native 
meeting,  he  called  for  volunteers  to  go  with  him 
to  Nyasa.  A  number  stood  up,  and  last  of  all 
William  got  to  his  feet,  saying  that  though  he 
had  not  the  education  of  the  others,  he  had  the 
desire  to  engage  in  the  Master's  service,  though 


IN  MEMO RI AM:  WILLIAM  KOYI         193 

he  could  only  go  as  a  '  hewer  of  wood  and  a 
drawer  of  water.'  Since  then  he  wrote  of  havinor 
half  a  talent,  but  being  anxious  to  use  it  for 
Christ.  This  spirit  of  humility,  so  alien  to  the 
tribe  to  which  he  belonged,  has  been  honoured  of 
God,  and  doubtless  many  will  yet  arise  to  call 
him  blessed,  having  first  heard  from  his  lips  the 
Word  of  Life." 

It  will  illustrate  the  character  of  William  Koyi 
if  I  give  a  few  incidents  connected  with  these. 
On  one  occasion,  not  long  after  the  Mission  had 
settled  at  Bandawe,  report  of  a  large  Ngoni  war- 
party,  on  its  way  to  attack  the  people  around  the 
station,  was  brought  from  a  village  some  miles 
distant.  On  such  occasions  the  terror-stricken 
natives,  women  and  children,  rushed  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  station  in  hope  of  protection  by 
the  Europeans.  Thousands  of  helpless  women 
and  children  crouched  among  the  bushes  around 
the  station,  or  crawled  into  holes  among  the 
rocks  on  the  neighbouring  hill,  or  lay  on  the 
beach  ready  to  take  to  the  water  as  a  last 
chance  of  life.  On  one  occasion,  not  only  were 
the  natives  alarmed,  but  so  threatening  were 
the  circumstances  that  the  missionaries  hastily 
put  together  a  few  things  and  launched  the 
boat  ready  for  escape  to  the  rocky  island  some 
hundreds  of  yards  off.      As  Dr  Laws  was  on 

N 


194 


AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 


the  beach  superintending  operations,  he  was 
attracted  by  a  little  boy  with  book  and  slate 
in  hand  near  to  him.  As  nothing  apparently 
could  be  done  to  save  the  natives,  or  the 
station,  Dr  Laws  said  to  the  boy,  "Eun  away 
and  save  yourself,"  to  which  the  little  fellow, 
clinging  to  his  only  possessions  worth  saving, 
replied,  ** Where  shall  I  run  to,  white  man?" 
When  the  report  above  referred  to  reached  the 
station,  a  consultation  was  held,  and  Mr  Koyi 
volunteered  to  go  out  and  meet  the  war-party, 
and  endeavour  to  turn  it  back  from  its  purpose. 
He  walked  on  for  some  hours,  and  at  last  met 
the  party  at  a  little  stream,  where  it  had  made 
a  temporary  camp  to  await  a  favourable  oppor- 
tunity to  attack  the  village  of  Matete,  some  two 
hours  west  of  Bandawe  station.  It  turned  out 
to  be  a  party  belonging  to  the  Chipatula  family, 
before  referred  to  as  having  been  the  first  to  re- 
ceive kindly  the  Mission  party  in  1879.  They 
were,  it  was  stated,  not  only  intending  to  attack 
the  natives,  but  also  the  Mission  station,  in  order 
to  secure  the  wealth  of  cloth,  beads,  and  other 
goods  they  imagined  were  in  store  there.  When 
Mr  Koyi  met  the  party,  and  before  he  could  open 
his  mouth,  the  young  warriors  began  to  engage 
in  war-dancing.  On  such  occasions  the  slightest 
indiscretion  in  speech  or  movement,  which  might 


Ngonilani)  Staff  at  Njuyu. 


HoRA  Mountain — Scene  of  Tumkuka  Massacre. 


IN  ME  MO  RUM  :  WILLIAM  KOTI  195 

be  interpreted  as  defiance,  would  have  led  to  an 
immediate  attack.  There,  with  only  a  few  friendly 
boys,  William  beheld  the  awe-inspiring  war-dance 
of  the  Ngoni.  They  danced  in  companies  and 
they  danced  singly,  each  warrior  clad  in  hideous- 
looking  garb  which,  with  their  large  war-shields, 
almost  hid  their  human  form,  and  made  them 
more  like  war-demons  than  men  as  they  leaped 
and  brandished  their  broad  -  bladed  stabbing 
spears  which  they  fight  with.  Mr  Koyi  stood 
for  a  time  watching  them,  and  utterly  unable  to 
decide  what  he  should  do,  or  how  to  efi'ect  the 
purpose  for  which  he  had  come  out.  With  secret 
prayer  to  God  for  guidance  and  success,  he  sat 
down  on  the  bank  of  the  stream.  Still  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  to  do,  he  took  off"  one  of  his  boots  and 
stockings  and  began  to  wash  his  feet.  That  done, 
he,  as  leisurely  and  still  puzzled,  put  on  his  boot 
again  ;  but  still  the  dancin^  went  on,  and  there 
was  no  opportunity  to  speak  even  had  he  known 
what  to  say.  He  then  proceeded  to  wash  his 
other  foot,  and  the  warriors  sat  down.  He  found 
the  opportunity  for  speech,  and  with  his  native 
instinct  remarked,  in  an  ofi'-hand  manner,  "  Now 
you  are  sensible  people  to  rest  yourselves  on  this 
hot  day."  This  produced  a  burst  of  laughter  from 
the  warriors.  The  spell  was  broken ;  the  war- 
like intentions  of  the  party  were  frustrated,  and 


196  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

then  free  and  open  speech  was  found.  The  result 
was,  war  was  averted  and  a  section  of  the  party 
was  conducted  to  the  Mission  station,  when  it 
was  arranged  that  Mr  Koyi  and  Albert  Nama- 
lambe,  who  was  at  that  time  at  Bandawe,  should 
go  back  with  the  party  and  see  Mombera,  with  a 
view  to  a  permanent  residence  among  the  Ngoni. 
Thus,  in  the  providence  of  God,  the  party  that 
left  home  bent  on  war  and  plunder,  returned 
home  as  guides  and  escort  of  the  messengers  of 
the  Gospel  of  peace ;  and  that  incident,  which  well 
illustrates  the  valuable  work  of  our  departed  col- 
league, was  the  prelude  to  the  commencement 
of  work  among  the  Ngoni,  the  success  of  which 
has  been  phenomenal,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 
Mombera  once  said  to  me,  "My  army,  when 
away  from  home,  are  like  mad  dogs  ;  they  cannot 
be  kept  in,  but  bite  small  and  great  the  same." 
And  only  those  who  passed  through  the  fire  of 
the  pioneering  days  at  Bandawe  and  in  Ngoni- 
land  can  measure  the  service  done  that  day,  not 
only  to  the  thousands  around  Bandawe,  but  to- 
wards the  success  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission. 
Years  after,  on  encamping  at  that  village  near 
which  the  Ngoni  army  was  met,  the  chief  related 
the  story  to  me,  and  sent  with  me  for  Mr  Koyi 
a  bunch  of  bananas  to  show  that  he  had  not 
forgotten  what  he  had  done  for  them. 


IN  MEMORIAM:   WILLIAM  KOYI         197 

When  Mr  Koyi  accompanied  the  warriors  back 
to  Ngoniland,  he  and  Albert  were  introduced  to 
Mombera,  and  resided  in  a  hut  in  his  village. 
The  Ngoni  took  some  time  ere  a  welcome  was 
given ;  there  was  one  party  favourable  to 
and  another  against  th^r  being  allowed  to  stay. 
They  were  exposed  to  many  insults  and  threats, 
and  for  a  time  their  position  was  most  critical. 
They  could  not  both  go  to  sleep  together  at 
night,  but  took  turns  in  watching  on  account 
of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  people.  In  all 
these  times  Mr  Koyi's  knowledge  of  the  Kafir 
language  was  invaluable ;  and  Mombera,  despite 
his  rough  manners  and  despotic  behaviour,  was 
extremely  fatherly  and  fond  of  children,  and 
formed  a  remarkable  attachment  to  Albert,  who 
had  a  very  attractive  appearance  and  manner. 

Mr  Koyi  was  known  by  the  native  name  of 
Umtusani,  and  from  love  to  him  Mombera 
named  one  of  his  sons  thus,  just  as  afterwards 
he  named  one  after  Dr  Laws  as  Roharti. 
Mombera  was  very  kind  to  Koyi,  and  although 
he  only  made  sport  of  what  was  told  him  of 
the  Gospel,  he  always  showed  him  great  respect, 
and  became  the  butt  of  liis  head-meu  on  account 
of  his  attachment  to  him.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
last  great  tribal  ceremony  of  putting  crowns  on 
the  heads  of  those  who  were  henceforth  to  take 


198  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

their  place  as  men  in  the  tribe,  there  was  a 
gathering  of  several  thousands  of  armed  men 
from  the  different  sections  of  the  tribe  at  the 
royal  kraal.  The  crowning  ceremony  I  else- 
where notice,  but  here  I  mention  as  showing 
how  prominent  and  open  was  the  hostility  to 
the  representatives  of  the  Mission  for  many  a 
day,  a  clamour  got  up  that  Koyi  should  be 
killed.  He  was  present  in  the  cattle-fold,  as  it 
was  always  found  advisable  to  go  about  without 
giving  evidence  of  fear,  as  one  of  the  best  methods 
of  disarming  their  hostility.  One  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  Ngoni  generals,  named  Nawambi, 
led  off  a  great  war-dance  which  Koyi  described 
as  making  his  hair  rise  up.  This  valiant's  war- 
cry  was  "  Beka  pansi"  (submit).  His  move- 
ments were  terrific  to  witness,  as  I  once  beheld 
them  myself  We  were  wont  to  call  him  Bel- 
shazzar,  for  in  his  war-dance  he  "  lifted  up 
himself  against  the  Lord  of  Heaven." 

With  spear  in  hand  he  began  by  walking  with 
raised  proud  look  round  in  front  of  his  warriors. 
Then  kicking  the  dust  of  the  ground  over  those 
around,  and  pointing  his  spear  in  seeming  in- 
dignation, said  "  submit."  The  assembled  thou- 
sands of  warriors,  beating  their  shields  with  their 
warclubs,  cried  "  submit."  Then  he  named  the 
surrounding    tribes,    the    hills   and    mountains, 


IN  MEMO  RUM :  WILLIAM  KOYI         199 

the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  his  seeming  fury 
waxing  stronger  and  the  clouds  of  dust  flying, 
while  at  each  call  the  warriors  beat  their  shields 
and  roared  "submit."  The  elements  of  nature, 
rain,  thunder,  lightning,  were  all  called  on  to 
submit ;  and  amid  the  increasing  din  of  shield- 
beating  and  roaring  of  the  warriors,  the  climax 
of  his  dance  and  his  daring  blasphemy  was 
reached  when,  pointing  to  the  sky,  he  cried, 
as  the  foam  flew  from  his  mouth,  "  Wena 
spezulu !  Beka  pansi  1 "  no  doubt  meaning 
Umkurumqango,  the  God  they  spoke  of  as 
dwelling  above.  The  tumult  was  as  if  all 
assembled  had  turned  into  demons,  and  no 
wonder  great  fear  fell  on  Mr  Koyi.  Mombera 
saw  his  discomfiture,  and  rising  up,  went  and 
took  him  by  the  hand,  and  led  him  to  his  own 
place  and  sat  down  beside  him.  It  was  probably 
what  saved  Koyi's  life  on  that  occasion,  for  once 
a  cry  of  blood  goes  out  in  a  company  of  warriors, 
fired  by  such  dancing  as  that  of  Nawambi,  they 
indeed  become  as  mad  dogs  or  worse.  Such 
scenes  have  for  ever  passed  away,  but  in  those 
days  they  always  ended  in  bloodshed. 

William  was  in  perils  oft.  On  the  occasion  of 
a  visit  of  Dr  and  Mrs  Laws  to  Ngoniland,  Mrs 
Laws  in  a  kindly  manner  put  her  hand  on  the 
head   of  one   of  Mombera's   children  with   the 


200  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

remark,  **  Such  a  fine  child."  After  they  had 
gone  the  child  sickened  and  died.  The  cry  got 
abroad  that  he  had  been  bewitched  when  the 
white  lady  put  her  hand  on  his  head  and  re- 
marked on  his  appearance — a  thing  the  people 
refrain  from  doing,  reminding  one  of  the  super- 
stition at  home  connected  with  "  for-speaking " 
anyone,  especially  a  child.  The  matter  was 
threatening  enough  at  the  time,  and  it  reveals 
something  of  Mombera's  character  when  he 
secretly  informed  Koyi,  and  said  that  he  him- 
self did  not  agree  with  those  who  said  the 
child  had  been  bewitched.  The  matter  was 
of  great  importance,  and  the  council  summoned 
the  divining  men  who  fortunately  blamed  some 
evil  spirit  and  not  Mrs  Laws.  The  council  was 
not  satisfied,  and  more  than  likely  the  party  op- 
posed to  the  Mission  conceived  the  idea  of  seizing 
on  this  as  a  pretext  for  driving  Koyi  out  of  the 
country,  if  not  of  killing  him.  Secretly  Mombera 
informed  him  of  all  that  was  going  on.  The  coun- 
cil insisted  on  having  recourse  to  the  Tonga  Tnuave 
ordeal,  and  so  fowls  representing  the  Mission  party 
had  the  poison  administered  to  them.  They  all 
vomited,  which  had  to  be  taken  as  evidence  of 
the  innocence  of  the  accused.  But  so  deter- 
mined apparently  were  the  council  to  obtain  a 
conviction,  that  they  suddenly  discovered  that 


IN  MEMORIAM :  WILLIAM  KOYI         201 

the  usual  test  as  to  whether  the  doctor  presid- 
ing was  giving  true  muave  or  not  had  not  been 
carried  out.  Another  fowl  was  therefore  taken 
and  received  the  poison  and  died.  This  shows 
how  insecure  for  a  long  time  was  the  position  of 
William  Koyi  and  the  others. 

These  were  not  the  only  occasions  on  which 
our  colleague  was  placed  in  trying  circumstances 
which  required  great  wisdom,  manliness  and  de- 
votion to  duty,  but  all  through  there  was  no 
wavering  or  weakness  shown.  He  understood 
his  position  and  the  trust  which  was  placed  in 
him,  and  with  characteristic  humility  and  absence 
of  self-seeking,  he  went  through  it  all,  counting  it 
an  honour  to  be  a  messenger  of  the  Cross  to  the 
Ngoni.  A  European  member  of  the  Mission  once 
said  to  me,  "It  requires  great  grace  to  be  humble, 
when  one  is  called  Mfumu  (chief)  by  the  people 
on  every  hand."  If  a  European  with  his  educa- 
tion and  attainments  found  himself  tempted  to 
be  lifted  up  by  the  merely  respectful  greeting 
of  the  natives,  how  much  more  so  might  Mr 
Koyi  be  expected  to  feel  that  temptation,  in 
the  position  assigned  to  him  in  Ngoniland  and 
the  respect  and  affection  of  chief  and  people 
which  he  gained  for  himself!  Those  who  have 
had  to  deal  with  natives  understand  how  many 
a  native,  otherwise  good  and  trustworthy,  loses 


202  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

himself  entirely  when  intrusted  with  a  little 
authority.  But  Koyi  never  forgot  "  the  hole 
of  the  pit  whence  he  was  dug."  The  charac- 
ter for  steadiness,  humility,  and  devotion  to 
duty,  which  Dr  Stewart  gave  him,  was  fully 
borne  out  to  the  very  end.  In  those  early  days 
Mr  Koyi  had  to  bear  the  chief  burden  of  those 
frequent  outbursts  of  Ngoni  pride  and  impa- 
tience. If  he  was  not  there  alone  and  having 
to  meet  them  by  himself,  he  was,  till  near  his 
death,  required  as  interpreter  and  chief  speaker. 
I  became  aware  on  several  occasions  that  he 
hid  from  others  and  from  me  much  of  the  anger, 
hard  words  and  wicked  intentions  of  the  Ngoni. 
He  was,  as  a  native,  able  to  discount  what  they 
said,  but  the  kindly  nature  of  the  man  was  shown 
in  his  rather  suffering  obloquy  himself  than  that 
his  white  friends  should  be  distressed.  This  was 
shown  on  another  occasion.  During  a  time  of 
trouble,  when  we  were  being  accused  of  inciting 
the  Tumbuka  to  revolt,  there  was  great  distrust 
of  us  manifested.  It  was  a  Sabbath  morning, 
and  earlier  than  usual  some  people  were  gathered 
for  the  service.  Some  head-men  and  others  fully 
armed  came  over  from  the  chief's  villages,  as 
they  said,  to  pray  to  God.  This  was  very  un- 
usual, and  as  we  knew  it  was  reported  that  the 
attendance  of  the  Tumbuka,  who  were  coming 


IN  MEMORIAM:  WILLIAM  KOTI         203 

on  Sabbath  to  our  service  in  large  numbers, 
was  exciting  the  jealousy  of  the  Ngoni,  the 
presence  of  armed  men  led  Mr  Koyi  to  appre- 
hend trouble  that  day.  To  add  to  his  view  of 
the  situation,  from  the  hollow  below  the  station, 
between  it  and  the  chief's  residence,  we  had  all 
morning  seen  smoke  arising  from  a  number  of 
fires.  Mr  Koyi  asked  the  armed  men  who  came 
from  that  direction  what  it  was,  and  they  said 
some  people  were  roasting  cassava  there.  After 
observing  Mr  Koyi's  restlessness  and  troubled 
face,  I  asked  what  was  causing  it.  He  then  told 
me  that  he  feared  trouble  at  the  service,  and  pro- 
posed that  I  should  remain  in  the  house  and  not 
go  to  the  service  that  day.  I  said  that  could  not 
be,  and  we  went  to  the  service  together,  and 
Mr  Koyi  preached.  Everything  passed  quietly 
except  that  in  the  middle  of  the  address  a  lead- 
ing man  got  up  from  his  place  and  gathering 
up  his  spears  said,  "  We  have  heard  enough  of 
that.  Give  us  cloth.  That  is  what  we  want," 
and  walked  out  alone.  The  others  seemed 
ashamed  at  his  conduct.  At  the  close  of  the 
service  William  came  into  my  room,  and  with 
a  half-ashamed  look  on  his  face  said,  "Did  I 
not  give  my  knee  a  great  knock  to-day  ? "  This 
was  his  parabolic  way  of  saying  that  he  had  been 
frightened  at  his  own  creation.      He  explained  it 


204  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

by  relating  how  a  Kafir,  tired  while  on  a  journey, 
had  lain  down  to  rest  and  fallen  asleep  with  one 
of  his  knees  flexed.  On  half  awaking  he  saw  the 
knee  as  if  another  were  over  him  ready  to  slay 
him.  Reaching  out  for  his  knobkerrie  he  dealt 
a  blow  on  the  supposed  murderer,  only  to  find 
it  was  himself  he  had  hurt.  This,  I  think,  was 
the  only  occasion  on  which  Mr  Koyi  showed  that 
his  fears  were  near  unmanning  him,  and  to  Afri- 
cans the  matter  is  plain  when  I  say  he  had  been 
suffering  for  some  time  from  feverish  attacks. 
It  appeared,  however,  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
that  the  head-men  had  indeed  come  to  hear  what 
was  said  at  our  services. 

Although  little  has  been  said  of  it  above, 
Mr  Koyi  was  a  devoted  evangelist,  and  so  far 
as  liberty  to  carry  on  such  work  was  given,  he 
was  eager  to  embrace  every  opportunity  of  tell- 
ing of  the  love  of  Christ.  He  preached  by  his 
life,  and  to  a  great  extent,  and  with  an  eifect 
we  shall  never  know,  his  personal  talks  with 
the  people  were  powerful  means  of  keeping  our 
real  work  before  them.  He  was  a  diligent 
student  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  with  much 
of  the  warmth  of  Christian  feeling,  he  was  a 
happy  Christian.  He  had  persevered  so  as  to 
acquire  a  fair  use  of  the  English  tongue  and 
literature.     A  common  Kafir — a  Mission  Kafir — 


IN  MEMO RI AM:  WILLIAM  KOTI         205 

to  be  sneered  at  by  men  not  possessing  a  titbe 
of  his  manliness  or  good  character,  he  was  one 
with  whom  it  was  a  privilege  to  associate.  I 
acknowledge  with  pleasure,  I  received  un- 
measured help  from  him ;  to  his  achievements 
in  those  early  days  the  after-success  of  the 
work  was  in  a  large  measure  due.  He  died 
before  he  saw  the  fruit  of  his  labours  among 
the  Ngoni.  He  lived  in  the  assurance  that 
the  day  would  come  soon  when  the  work  would 
be  allowed  to  go  on  unhindered  by  the  council, 
and  he  had  a  large  idea  of  the  importance  of 
gaining  the  Ngoni,  so  that  in  his  letters  to 
Lovedale  he  showed  himself  as  he  was  on  that 
subject. 

He  could  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  the 
aims  and  work  of  the  Mission  —  looking  be- 
yond the  immediate  future  to  a  degree  which 
was  most  remarkable  for  a  native,  and  which 
exceeded  that  of  some  of  his  white  brethren. 
He  strongly  urged  upon  his  fellow-countrymen 
in  the  colony  the  importance  and  character  of 
the  work,  and  the  call  to  them  to  give  them- 
selves to  it.  Writing  home  in  1883  he  says,  "It 
will  be  a  great  day  when  the  native  Christians 
of  South  Africa  will  willingly  undertake  the 
work  here,  and  give  up  their  lives  to  come  and 
teach  their  countrymen  at  Lake  Nyasa,     I  wish 


2o6  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

I  had  a  better  education ;  I  would  give  myself 
wholly  to  my  countrymen  here.  Here  is  work 
for  Christ  standing  still.  You  (native  Christians) 
have  received  much,  and  have  also  received 
education.  I  do  not  say  you  do  not  work  with 
that  education  where  you  are.  But  can  you 
not  even  spare  two  to  come  and  teach  these 
people  who  are  dying  in  darkness  ?  What  am 
I  to  think,  and  what  encouragement  will  my 
soul  receive  if  no  attempts  are  made  by  you  to 
second  my  poor  efforts  ?  My  great  wish  is  that 
there  was  a  white  and  also  a  native  missionary 
here,  and  then  the  work  would  progress.  I  think 
there  should  be  moic  coming  to  help  in  this 
great  work."  That  "great  wish"  was  the  con- 
viction of  Dr  Laws  also,  and  my  being  sent 
out  in  1884  was  the  response  to  it  by  friends 
in  Scotland. 

And  his  death  ?  How  died  the  faithful  soldier 
of  the  Cross?  As  he  had  lived,  strong  in  faith 
and  in  the  assurance  of  acceptance  with  God 
through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  sickness 
of  which  he  died  ran  a  rapid  course.  Having  to 
go  to  Bandawe,  I  left  him  convalescent  from  an 
attack  of  malarial  fever.  I  had  been  away  only 
a  few  days  when  his  condition  became  serious, 
and  he  expressed  a  desire  to  have  me  with  him, 
so  I  hastened  back  to  find  to  my  dismay  that  a 


IN  MEMORIAM:  WILLIAM  KOTI         207 

dangerous  affection  of  the  heart  had  supervened. 
He  rallied  for  a  time,  and  though  still  confined  to 
bed,  he  was  full  of  hope  that  he  was  to  be  raised 
up  again  for  his  work.  One  day  towards  the  end 
a  large  deputation  came  from  the  chief.  As  they 
were  seen  ascending  to  the  station  we  were  anxious 
as  to  what  its  object  might  be,  having  only  too 
good  reason  from  past  experience  to  be  anxious. 
Great  was  Mr  Koyi's  regret  that  he  could  not  take 
his  wonted  place  when  the  deputation  arrived. 
It  was  the  happiest  day  of  my  life — they  had 
come  to  say  that  we  had  now  full  permission  to 
teach  the  children  and  to  go  about  the  country. 
No  sooner  had  the  deputation  withdrawn  than  I 
hastened  to  the  sick  chamber  to  give  the  good 
news.  As  I  entered,  William,  who  was  sitting 
propped  up  in  bed  on  account  of  his  laboured 
breathing,  said  eagerly,  "  What  is  it  ?  Can  you 
believe  it  ? "  I  said,  "  We  have  now  full  liberty 
to  carry  on  all  our  work,  and  to  open  schools." 
Clasping  his  hands  and  taking  up  the  words  of 
the  aged  Simeon  as  he  beheld  the  Saviour,  with  a 
never-to-be-forgotten  gleam  of  joy  lighting  up  his 
wasted  countenance,  he  said,  "Lord,  now  lettest 
Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes 
have  seen  Thy  salvation."  He  was  overcome, 
and  lay  for  a  time  as  if  dead. 

The  words  he  uttered   were  his   prayer,   and 


2o8  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

it  was  answered  two  days  later,  when  in  peace, 
and  with  a  brief  farewell  to  his  wife  and  myself, 
he  was  taken  to  the  higher  service  of  the  sanctu- 
ary above.  The  words  he  uttered  were  also  his 
thanksgiving  and  his  resignation.  During  the 
interval  till  his  death,  quite  contrary  to  his 
former  hopefulness  of  recovery,  he  was  assured 
he  was  to  die.  He  once  said  he  would  like 
to  be  raised  up  to  see  the  work  in  progress, 
but  he  knew  it  was  to  be  otherwise,  and  he 
said  it  was  best.  So  died  William  Koyi, 
having  been  a  humble  and  faithful  follower  of 
the  Saviour,  a  trophy  from  heathenism,  and  the 
pioneer  of  the  Gospel  in  Ngoniland.  It  was 
meet  that,  his  work  done,  his  dust  should  rest 
where  he  had  fought  the  battle,  becoming  the 
title-deed  to  "Ngoniland  for  Christ."  His  was 
the  second  mission  grave  opened  there. 


Mr  SUTHERLAND,  Artisan  Mismonakv. 


CHAPTER  X 

IN  MEMORIAM  :    JAMES  SUTHERLAND 

ALTHOUGH  less  closely  connected  with  the 
work  in  Ngoniland  than  William  Koyi,  it 
is  fitting  that  the  name  and  work  of  James 
Sutherland  should  be  had  in  remembrance  also, 
for  he  was  the  first  European  missionary  to  reside 
among  the  Ngoni,  having  been  sent  to  be  with 
Mr  Koyi  in  1882,  and  along  with  him  had  to  bear 
the  trials  of  those  early  days. 

I  write  not  merely  as  a  fellow-worker  but  as  a 
close  friend,  and  having  had  much  to  do  with  his 
choice  of  foreign  mission  service.  Born  in  Wick 
in  1856,  he  was  converted,  when  a  youth  of 
eighteen,  about  the  time  of  Moody's  visit  to 
Scotland  in  1874,  and  became  a  Sabbath  School 
teacher,  and  "Monthly  Visitor"  tract  distributor 
in  his  native  town. 

In  1876  I  went  to  Wick  as  missionary  to  the 
fisher  population.  I  gathered  around  me  a  band 
of  young  men,  young  in  years  like  myself,  and 
young  in  the  Christian  life.    They  became  my  best 

0  '°5 


2IO  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

helpers,  and  along  with  me  took  part  in  open- 
air  and  in-door  meetings.  We  formed  a  class 
for  the  study  of  the  Bible,  Christian  Evidences, 
Butler's  "Analogy,"  and  such-like  subjects,  as 
well  as  for  reading  in  the  English  classics.  The 
friendship  then  formed  lasted  to  the  end.  As 
I  then  looked  forward  to  foreign  mission  work 
myself,  the  subject  of  missions  was  well  discussed, 
and  it  turned  out  that  I,  who  had  fostered  the 
desire  in  his  mind,  was  beaten  in  the  race  to 
Livingstonia  by  four  years. 

Following  his  father's  trade — that  of  a  shoe- 
maker— he  was  a  great  reader  and  worked  steadily 
to  improve  his  education  with  mind  bent  on 
higher  spheres.  He  was  particularly  drawn  to 
scientific  studies,  and  gaining  a  bursary  he  entered 
Edinburgh  University  along  with  one  of  his  com- 
panions (a  member  of  my  class),  who,  like  him, 
had  been  fighting  his  own  way  in  the  world.  It 
is  characteristic  of  their  thirst  for  knowledge 
under  difficulties,  that,  both  being  shorthand 
writers,  they  each  took  a  different  class  outside 
the  line  of  their  special  studies,  and  by  inter- 
changing their  note-books  had  practically  the 
benefit  of  both  classes  for  one  fee  each.  After 
two  Sessions  at  Edinburgh,  in  1880  a  man  who 
understood  agriculture  was  wanted  for  Living- 
stonia.    The  advertisement  was  eagerly  read  by 


IN  MEMORIAM:  JAMES  SUTHERLAND    211 

the  two  students,  and  as  agriculture  was  one  of 
the  subjects  they  had  been  studying,  each  deter- 
mined, unknown  to  the  other,  to  apply.  A  late 
member  of  the  Mission,  studying  medicine  along 
with  me,  was  deputed  to  see  the  candidates,  and 
by  the  same  mail  I  received  letters  from  them 
both  asking  for  a  recommendation.  James 
Sutherland  was  chosen,  and  the  other  went  to 
India  to  a  commercial  life,  but  was  no  less  a 
missionary.  Both  died  within  a  few  months  of 
each  other. 

Leaving  home  in  the  middle  of  1880  he  was 
for  some  time  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  Mission 
at  Bandawe  under  Dr  Laws.  He  had  been 
appointed  to  fill  the  post  of  agriculturist,  rendered 
vacant  by  the  death  of  his  predecessor  when  on 
the  point  of  leaving  for  home  at  the  end  of  his 
engagement.  But  while  nominally  agriculturist, 
he  was,  like  all  the  others  on  the  staff,  everything 
by  turns,  as  was  rendered  necessary  by  the  con- 
ditions of  work  in  the  beginning  which  was  being 
made  at  Bandawe.  He  was  engaged  in  the  erec- 
tion of  manse  and  school ;  in  the  laying  out  of 
the  station  and  garden  ;  in  testing  the  capabilities 
of  the  soil  at  and  around  Bandawe  for  the 
development  of  agricultural  work  ;  and  at  times 
had  to  take  his  turn  at  school  and  meeting. 

He  saw  Bandawe  founded,  and  it  was  there  he 


212  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

was  permitted  to  do  most  evangelistic  work  for 
which  he  was  eminently  suited.  His  close  con- 
tact with  the  people  every  day  while  in  charge 
of  out-door  labour  enabled  him  speedily  to  master 
the  Tonga  language.  He  gained  the  affection 
of  the  poor  down-trodden  Tonga  people  by  his 
happy  disposition,  and  sowed  much  seed  of  the 
Word,  which  has  no  doubt  helped  towards  the 
success  of  the  work  there  since.  Whatever  his 
hand  found  to  do  was  done  with  all  his  might. 
His  sympathies  were  broad,  and  with  the  various 
phases  of  mission  life  and  experience  he  was  in 
harmony,  keeping  ever  before  him  the  great  end 
for  which  he  was  sent  out.  He  felt  the  troubles 
and  anxieties  consequent  on  the  Ngoni  raids  long 
ere  he  was  sent  to  be  among  that  people.  On  one 
occasion  he  was  lying  helpless  in  fever  when  an 
Ngoni  army  was  reported  to  be  marching  on  the 
station.  The  sudden  change  from  the  quiet  of 
the  neighbourhood  to  the  tumult  and  cries  of  the 
frightened  natives,  and  the  hasty  preparations 
for  flight  of  the  Mission  party,  was  a  great  strain 
on  Sutherland  in  his  weak  state,  and  in  a  single 
night  his  hair  began  to  turn  grey.  But  he  never 
regretted  having  given  himself  to  the  work,  and 
it  would  be  difficult  to  picture  the  harmony, 
happiness,  and  at  times  the  mirth  of  the  three 
youths  who  lived  in  "  Bachelors'  Hall "  as  they 


IN  MEMO  RUM:  JAMES  SUTHERLAND    213 

named  their  house.  In  those  days  the  conditions 
of  health  were  not  very  good,  and  long  periods 
passed  without  a  mail  or  news  from  the  outer 
world,  but  he  and  the  others  lived  and  laboured 
as  if  all  depended  on  their  exertions. 

When,  in  1882,  he  was  sent  to  Ngoniland  as 
co-worker  with  Mr  Koyi,  he  set  himself  to  learn 
the  language  of  the  people,  but  by  means  of 
Tonga  he  was  at  once  at  work  among  those 
slaves  of  the  Ngoni  who  spoke  that  language. 
There,  as  at  Bandawe,  his  influence  was  chiefly 
among  the  common  people,  and  many  in  bond- 
age to  the  Ngoni  had  a  new  feeling  aroused  by 
his  kindly  words  and  the  telling  of  the  story  of 
Christ's  love.  He  spent  much  of  his  time  in  the 
neighbouring  villages,  and  gathered  under  his 
influence  a  number  of  young  men,  many  of 
whom  have  since  become  members  of  the  Church, 
and  some  are  now  respectable  members  of  society, 
who  were,  before  he  took  them  up,  wild  reckless 
youths  bent  on  following  the  ways  of  the  Ngoni. 
At  Njuyu  he  erected  the  brick  dwelling-house. 
It  was  no  light  matter  to  begin  such  an  under- 
taking, where,  with  the  exception  of  brick-mould 
and  trowel,  everything  else  requisite  had  to  be 
got  by  the  labour  of  natives.  The  natives  had 
probably  never  before  seen  a  brick,  much  less 
moulded  one.     They  knew  to  set  a  few  sticks  in 


214  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

the  ground  in  a  circle  and  tie  over  them  a  few- 
wattles  and  some  grass,  which  served  them  as  a 
house.  Besides,  the  people  had  no  inclination 
for  work,  they  lived,  not  by  the  sweat  of  their 
brow,  but  by  stealing  the  things  of  others.  With 
such  a  set  of  helpers  Mr  Sutherland  had  to  start 
to  build  a  house  of  several  rooms,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  frequently  expressed  view  of  the 
natives,  when  finished,  was  a  village  under  one 
roof.  The  clay  had  to  be  dug  and  puddled,  then, 
by  means  of  moulds  made  of  disused  provision 
cases,  shaped  into  bricks  and  laid  down  in  the 
shade  to  dry.  For  a  long  time  it  was  extremely 
irritating  work  to  spend  a  whole  forenoon  in 
teaching  two  or  three  to  mould  bricks,  or  others 
to  lay  them  down  flat  in  rows  in  the  shade,  and 
find  when  the  bell  rang  for  mid-day  rest  the  whole 
squad  of  w^orkers  demand  their  pay,  saying  they 
had  now  worked  a  great  deal  and  needed  to  rest 
for  a  time.  How  could  a  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  bricks  be  made  at  that  rate?  But 
Sutherland  struggled  on,  and  erected  a  noble 
house.  Although  only  of  sun-dried  bricks,  which 
are  easily  dug  into  by  white  ants,  it  stands  to- 
day a  monument  of  taste  and  thoroughly  honest 
work. 

It  is  a  common  experience  in  many  Missions, 
that  some  men  with  special  handicrafts  engaged 


IN  MEMORIAM:  JAMES  SUTHERLAND    215 

to  do  special  work  in  the  mission,  develop  the 
idea  that  mission-work  is  only  preaching  and 
teaching ;  they  despise  their  position  and  mis- 
judge their  influence,  and  in  time  throw  up 
the  work,  or  remain  and  are  a  source  of 
trouble  to  their  colleagues.  Sutherland  was  not 
one  of  those.  He  made  all  his  work  true 
missionary  work  by  his  consecration  to  the 
service  of  Christ.  Often  did  he  turn  up  the 
pages  of  his  shorthand  note-book  and  read  over 
a  sermon  preached  by  Dr  Laws  on  Zech.  xiv.  20, 
"  Holiness  to  the  Lord,"  treating  of  the  ideal  and 
possible  in  even  the  manual  labour  which  might 
be  engaged  in  for  the  Mission.  "  Let  the  spirit 
of  every  one  impress  even  on  the  bricks  he  makes 
the  motto,  "  Holiness  unto  the  Lord  i "'  Such  was 
Sutherland's  aim  in  all  his  work,  and  was  that 
which  enabled  him  to  live  a  tranquil  life  amid 
many  worries.  He  could  have  answered  the 
speaker,  who,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Anthropolo- 
gical Institute  reproached  the  missionaries  as  do- 
nothings,  and  called  the  natives  imitative  brutes, 
in  the  words  of  Zimmerman,  "  Did  I  not  put 
tools  into  the  hands  of  the  natives,  and  teach 
them  to  fell  timber,  to  saw  boards,  and  to  make 
them  into  doors  and  window-frames  ?  Did  not 
I  myself  dig  the  clay  and  make  the  first  hundred 
bricks,  in  order  that  the  imitative  brutes  might 


2i6  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

do  the  same?  Did  not  I  dig  the  ground  and 
build  the  foundation  walls  of  brick  and  mortar, 
until  I  could  trust  these  brutes  to  proceed  by 
themselves  ?  Yes  !  I  have  now  a  house  which 
shelters  me,  and  compared  with  the  sheds  of  the 
natives,  is  more  like  a  palace.  You  say  the 
African  is  like  the  ape,  an  animal  gifted  with  the 
power  of  imitation.  Well !  Only  his  power  of 
imitation  goes  a  little  beyond  that  of  the  brute." 

Ten  years  have  made  a  great  change  on  the 
working  habits  of  the  people,  and  it  is  even 
yet  not  an  easy  matter  or  one  conducing  to 
equanimity  of  temper,  to  have  to  superintend 
natives  at  work,  and  what  it  must  have  cost 
those  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  present 
progress  may  be  imagined.  Sutherland  had  a 
sweet  disposition,  and  was  the  right  man  in  the 
right  place.  No  one  who  knew  him  will  forget 
his  quiet  behaviour  under  great  provocation,  and 
he  had  the  happy  knack  of  stimulating  the  native 
to  honest  work,  not  by  fear,  but  by  a  powerful 
personal  influence. 

He  was  much  respected  by  Mombera,  and  his 
happy  manner  made  him  attractive  to  many  of 
the  Ngoni.  His  life  at  Njuyu  was  too  circum- 
scribed for  his  ardent  spirits.  When  building 
work  was  over,  and  as  no  schools  were  permitted, 
while  it  was  unsafe  to  move  to  a  distance  from 


IN  MEMORIAM:  JAMES  SUTHERLAND    217 

the  station,  he  felt  the  hardship  of  not  having  his 
hands  full  of  work.  Added  to  this  there  were 
the  frequent  rumoui's  of  war,  and  excitement 
over  the  ill-concealed  bad  intentions  of  the 
Ngoni  towards  the  Mission,  and  what  was  a 
daily  annoyance  almost  past  endurance  —  the 
begging  of  the  people,  from  the  chief  and  his 
wife  downwards.  It  was  not  the  polite  request 
by  one  in  need,  but  the  insolent  demand,  and  a 
volley  of  abuse  if  the  request  was  not  granted. 
One  could  scarcely  name  a  thing  that  was  not 
coveted  and  demanded.  From  early  morning  all 
through  the  day  till  near  sunset  there  were 
people  begging.  There  was  no  privacy,  for  they 
forced  themselves  into  the  house,  there  being 
only  reed  doors  at  first.  On  one  occasion,  in 
order  to  let  a  sick  member  have  privacy  and 
quiet,  his  bed  had  to  be  set  behind  the  door  to 
block  the  entrance.  Mombera  was  often  im- 
pudent and  unbecoming  in  his  behaviour,  and 
so  all  the  people  were  encouraged  in  the  same 
manner  of  treating  the  mission-party  when  their 
demands  were  not  satisfied.  There  was  one  good 
quality  in  the  Ngoni  character.  If  the  mission- 
aries were  absent  there  was  no  attempt  to  enter 
the  house.  Their  own  laws  were  severe  on  that 
point,  and  death  was  the  penalty  for  house-enter- 
ing— it  could  not  be  called  house-breaking,  where 


2i8  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONl 

the  only  lock  to  a  native  door  is  a  cross  stick 
outside,  to  which  the  door  is  fastened  by  a  string. 
Acting  on  the  knowledge  of  this,  when  Mom- 
bera  and  his  retinue,  or  a  bevy  of  his  wives — an 
impudent,  drunken  set  of  beings — were  seen  as- 
cending from  the  river  to  the  station,  Sutherland 
and  Koyi  would  hastily  pocket  some  food,  and 
putting  up  the  reed  doors,  slip  out  at  the  back 
and  scramble  up  Njuyu  hill,  behind  which,  in 
peace  with  a  good  book,  they  looked  down  on  the 
begging  visitors  finding  their  journey  in  vain. 
Time  was  nothing  to  them,  and  they  could  as 
comfortably  smoke,  snuflF,  and  talk  gossip  on  the 
mission-house  verandah  as  at  home,  and  some- 
times they  remained  a  whole  forenoon.  It  was 
an  experience  which  could  not  have  been  avoided. 
The  people  were  eager  to  get  cloth  and  beads, 
but  as  for  desiring  the  Gospel  there  was  no  evi- 
dence they  did  so,  but  much  to  show  they  were 
utterly  opposed  to  it.  In  such  circumstances  it 
required  tact  and  consecration  to  do  as  much 
Christian  work  as  was  done.  While  the  pros- 
pect was  of  the  most  unpromising  nature, 
Sutherland  never  lost  hope  or  faith,  and  it  was 
a  solace  in  his  many  worries  and  unsuccessful 
efforts  to  reach  the  people,  to  gather  the  few 
house-boys  round  him  every  day  and  teach  them 
to  read  the  Word  of  God  for  themselves.     In  the 


IN  ME  MO  RUM:  JAMES  SUTHERLAND    219 

early  stage  of  such,  a  mission,  what  people  at 
home  imagine  is  mission  work  may  have  but  a 
small  place.  The  foundation  builders  have  as 
arduous  a  task,  and  of  them  is  required  as  great 
faith  and  earnest  work,  though  all  they  do  will 
be  hid  by  the  superstructure  raised  by  those  who 
come  after  them,  as  those  who,  like  myself  and 
others,  have  been  able,  on  what  they  achieved, 
to  go  forth  to  sow  and  to  reap — to  do  such  work 
as  some  are  pleased  to  count  as  alone  mission 
work. 

The  circumstances  under  which  Koyi  and 
Sutherland  laboured  were  such  that  very  little 
opportunity  was  given  for,  and  little  dependence 
could  be  placed  on,  oral  teaching.  Many  a 
young,  vigorous  missionary,  fresh  from  home, 
full  of  his  own  perceptions  of  the  truth  and  his 
new  duty,  goes  from  village  to  village  "  bearing 
witness,"  and  returns  home  feeling  he  has  ful- 
filled his  mission.  But  real  missionary  work  in 
the  early  stage  of  a  mission  to  such  a  grossly 
sensual,  barbarously  cruel  people  as  the  Ngoni, 
or  their  even  more  degraded  slaves,  the  Tumbuka, 
more  frequently  consists  in  a  consistent,  loving 
life,  than  in  sermons  or  addresses  however 
eloquent.  Such  work  is  harder  than  preach- 
ing, and  such  work  was  well  done  by  the  de- 
parted brethren. 


2  20  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

Like  his  fellow-worker,  Mr  Koyi,  he  was  called 
to  the  higher  service  above  ere  the  fruit  of  his 
toils  in  Ngoniland  was  gathered,  but  to-day,  as  I 
scan  the  faces  of  those  who  sit  at  the  Table  of 
the  Lord  in  the  church  at  Njuyu,  I  see  one  and 
another  who  recall  Sutherland  to  my  mind,  and 
I  can  trace  their  spiritual  history  and  meet  him 
in  his  dealings  with  them  far  back  in  1885.  The 
worker  may  fall  but  the  work  goes  on.  So  deter- 
mined was  he  to  cling  to  Ngoniland  and  live  a 
missionary's  life,  if  he  were  not  permitted  to  do  a 
missionary's  work,  that  in  1885  when  trouble  for 
us  was  abroad,  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  would 
indeed  be  driven  from  the  country,  Mr  Suther- 
land was  prepared  to  become  a  slave  to  them  in 
order  to  be  allowed  to  remain.  He  even  went 
and  chose  his  owner — an  old  and  much  respected 
Swazi  woman,  the  widow  of  Chipatula. 

He  packed  up  his  goods,  and  on  August  10th 
left  for  Bandawe.  On  September  29th,  1885,  he 
died  of  haematuric  fever  within  a  week  or  two  of 
the  expiry  of  his  first  five  years'  service.  When 
the  news  of  his  death  reached  Njuyu,  the  natives 
came  in  large  numbers  to  express  their  sorrow, 
for  Sutherlandi,  as  they  called  him,  had  won 
their  afi'ection.  Mombera  also  sent  messengers 
to  speak  his  sorrow.  As  this  was  the  first  death 
of  a  mission  member  he  had  known,  he  sent  also 


IN  MEMORIAM :  JAMES  SUTHERLAND    iix 

to  ask  if  we  believed  people  died  by  witchcraft, 
and  if  we  thought  our  friend  had  been  killed  by 
the  Tonga  at  Bandawe,  he  would  set  the  matter 
right  for  us  by  sending  down  a  war-party.  It 
gave  us  an  opportunity  of  speaking  plainly  to 
Mombera  on  the  lesson  for  them  of  the  life  of 
Sutherland,  and  thus  in  his  death  as  well  as  in 
his  life  he  preached  to  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    CRISIS  :     WAK,    OR    THE    GOSPEL 

THE  year  1887  opened  bright  for  us.  We  had 
a  little  school  of  twenty-two  scholars  and 
a  class  of  young  men  too  old  to  attend  school,  but 
who  were  anxious  to  learn  the  Word  of  God.  It 
was  now  that  the  results  of  the  past  years  of  con- 
tact with  the  people  could  be  estimated,  when  any 
who  wished  might  come  to  us  for  instruction.  For 
six  years  there  had  been  nothing  seen  of  what 
critics  of  mission  work  would  term  results,  and 
yet  we  were  now  gladdened  by  observing  that 
behind  the  apparent  indifference  of  the  people, 
and  their  merely  worldly  interests  in  clinging  to 
us  when  we  had  work  to  offer  them,  the  influence 
of  the  daily  life  of  the  staff  had  produced  a  marked 
effect.  Although  evangelistic  work  had  been  for- 
bidden, the  hundreds  of  workers  who  were  engaged 
with  us  in  brick-making,  house-building,  and  road- 
making,  formed  an  audience  to  which  we  minis- 
tered. Now  when  they  were  at  liberty  to  come 
to  our  classes  they  did  so,  and,  apparently  quite 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       223 

suddenly,  there  arose  a  band  of  young  men  who 
were  ready  to  stand  by  us.  There  was  at  least 
a  mind  open  to  what  we  taught,  and  their  belief 
in  some  of  their  own  customs  was  considerably 
shaken. 

The  youths  who  began  to  speak  of  our  work 
as  worthy  the  attention  of  the  people,  excited  a 
violent  storm  of  persecution.  It  was  made  plain 
to  us  that  the  edict  of  the  chiefs,  however  favour- 
able to  our  work,  could  not,  and  did  not,  change 
the  natural  mind  of  the  population.  It  began  to 
be  a  fight  between  the  Gospel  and  the  word  of 
the  witch-doctor,  and  the  enmity  of  the  natural 
and  unrenewed  heart  of  man.  But  to  us  it  was 
full  of  encouragement,  as  it  showed  that  these 
youths  were  not  acting  one  thing  in  our  presence, 
and  another  thing  when  among  their  countrymen. 
The  leading  boys  in  the  prayer-meeting  were  sons 
of  a  witch-doctor  who  lived  near  the  station.  He 
also  had  come  under  the  influence  of  Mr  Koyi, 
and  we  were  gratified  by  a  step  which  he  took  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year.  His  village  was  the 
nearest  to  the  station,  and  almost  every  day 
people  came  to  consult  him.  The  still  morn- 
ings resounded  with  the  responses  of  the  appli- 
cants as  they  followed  the  doctor  in  ''smelling- 
out "  the  case,  and  at  times  with  the  sound  of  his 
drums  and  the  accompanying  plaintive  songs  as 


2  24  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

some  demon  was  being  exorcised.  When  he  began 
to  perceive  the  nature  of  our  work,  and  witnessed 
the  effect  of  it  on  his  boys,  he  moved  his  "  con- 
sulting-room "  to  one  of  his  other  villages,  about 
seven  miles  away  among  the  neighbouring  hills, 
in  order,  either  to  be  away  from  the  light  which 
revealed  his  darkness,  or  out  of  respect  to  us.  I 
believe  it  was  from  the  latter,  because  about  this 
time  he  discontinued  taking  with  him,  for  the 
performance  of  his  incantations  in  the  country, 
his  children  who  were  attending  our  school  and 
classes.  In  connection  with  these  functions 
he  required  the  beating  of  a  series  of  drums 
of  different  pitch,  and  his  sons  and  daughters 
were  accustomed  to  do  the  work,  but  now  he 
chose  others  and  set  them  free.  Wherever 
this  man  went  he  had  a  good  word  to  say 
on  our  behalf,  and  his  faith  in  us  was  further 
shown  by  his  sending  his  wives  and  children 
to  the  station  to  be  treated  w^hen  sick.  Yet 
although  he  attended  our  services  and  encour- 
aged his  children  to  cling  to  us,  he  continued 
to  practice  his  profession,  and  his  case  shows 
how  difficult  it  is  for  a  native  advanced  in 
years  to  give  up  his  long-established  beliefs 
and  follow  a  new  course. 

In  marked  contrast  to  that,  and  showing  how 
important  work  among  the  young  is,  the  case  of 


THE  CRISIS:  IV JR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL      225 

one  of  his  sons  may  be  stated.  He  was  supposed 
to  have  become  possessed  of  an  evil  spirit 
(chiromho),  and  his  father  arranged  for  a  dance 
to  exorcise  it.  The  son  gave  a  passive  obedience 
to  the  arrangements  made  by  the  father.  I  was 
staying  at  a  village  a  few  miles  from  where  the 
dance  was  to  take  place.  On  a  Sunday  morning 
a  woman,  who  is  now  an  active  Christian  worker, 
came  to  me  to  ask  some  blue  cloth  in  which  to 
clothe  the  subject  of  the  dance,  it  being  supposed 
that  this  chiromho  was  in  quest  of  that  variety 
of  calico.  I  of  course  refused,  and  a  few  hours 
later  I  received  a  note  from  the  young  man 
Chitezi,  as  his  name  was,  requesting  me  to  send 
him  my  Zulu  Bible,  as,  while  he  had  to  submit 
to  his  father,  he  desired  to  show  that  he  did  not 
believe  in  what  was  going  on.  In  the  evening  I 
went  to  see  him  and  found  his  father,  painted 
with  red  clay,  in  the  midst  of  his  di\aning  instru- 
ments, and  in  a  circle  around  him  and  his  son, 
who  sat  reading  the  Bible,  the  drummers  and 
dancers  perfoimed.  It  was  a  strange  sight. 
Such  dances  and  performances  were  common 
enough  in  the  country,  but  never  before  where 
the  subject  of  them  sat  reading  the  Word  of  God. 
Parental  anxiety  was  no  doubt  shown,  and  on  the 
son's  part  filial  obedience.  The  one  was  not  able 
to  exercise  implicit  faith  in  God  and  the  Gospel, 

p 


226  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  Jbence  fell  back  on  that  which  gave  his  mind 
rest ;  and  the  other  was  not  strong  enough  to 
declare  a  separation  from  the  superstitions  in 
which  he  had  been  brought  up. 

Not  long  after  this,  however,  Chitezi  did  un- 
mistakably confess  his  faith  before  men,  in  deny- 
ing and  opposing  the  pretensions  of  an  old 
woman,  who,  as  a  "  chief  of  hades  "  {fumu  wa 
pansi)  practised  her  deceptions  upon  the  com- 
munity. Such  individuals  travelled  through  the 
country,  dressed  grotesquely  and  painted  with 
white  clay.  They  were  credited  with  the  power  of 
turning  themselves  into  ravenous  beasts,  such  as 
lions  and  leopards,  and  of  devouring  any  who 
might  incur  their  anger,  or  whom  they  might  be 
hired  by  anyone  to  destroy.  It  was  also  believed 
that  the  spirit  of  some  dead  chief  was  located  in 
them.  In  consequence  of  this  reputation,  when 
they  turned  up  in  a  village  in  the  evening,  the 
people  were  so  frightened  that  they  endeavoured 
by  gifts  of  cloth,  beads  and  food  to  gain  their 
good-will  and  so  be  left  unharmed.  Chitezi,  on 
one  occasion,  turned  on  one  of  these  deceivers  and 
challenged  her  to  turn  herself  into  a  lion.  In- 
stantly the  whole  community  turned  on  him  and 
affirmed  that  he  was  mad,  and  that  his  action 
would  enrage  the  "  chief  of  hades "  and  bring 
trouble  upon  them  all.     He  challenged  her  to 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       227 

appear  next  evening  at  sun-set  as  a  lion  and  he 
would  fight  her.  She  accepted  the  challenge. 
Chitezi,  who,  during  the  day  was  not  quite  at 
ease,  armed  himself  with  spears  and  sat  on  the 
village  ant-hill  to  await  the  issue.  Of  course  no 
lion  came,  but  among  the  villagers  the  force  of  the 
incident  was  minimised  by  the  woman's  having 
gone  away,  leaving  a  message  that  out  of  respect 
to  his  father  she  refrained  from  hurting  a  child  of 
Kalengo's.  At  the  same  time  the  matter  was 
talked  over  and  good  was  done  by  it.  Only 
enlightenment  of  mind  can  remove  the  terrible 
fear  which  possesses  them  of  what  may  happen  if 
certain  things  are  not  done.  It  is  not  easy  for 
them  to  give  up  their  faith  in  their  own  practices. 
They  are  part  of  their  life,  and  hence  we  find 
many  instances  where  a  patient  being  treated  by 
us  is  at  the  same  time  undergoing  their  own 
treatment.  In  other  cases,  which  at  first  almost 
comprised  the  whole  of  our  medical  work,  it  is 
only  when  their  own  doctors  fail  that  we  are 
called  in.  A  medical  missionary's  most  important 
work,  or  the  ultimate  end  of  it,  is  not  merely  to 
cure  the  patient.  What  his  purely  medical  work 
greatly  aids  in  accomplishing  is  the  correction  of 
error,  physical,  mental,  and  moral,  and  so  he  is 
compensated  for  the  frequently  unsatisfactory 
medical  results  of  his  efibrts  in  many  cases.     The 


228  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

people  cannot  be  laughed  out  of  their  (to  us) 
absurd  positions  and  beliefs.  Their  emancipation 
is  a  progressive  work  towards  which  all  our  work 
tends.  In  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  in  the 
lowlands  as  well,  I  have  met  with  instances  of  a 
blind  obedience  to  superstitious  usages,  as  firm  and 
as  absurd  as  may  be  met  with  in  Central  Africa. 
When  on  this  subject  I  may  relate  an  incident 
which  led  to  my  having  great  freedom  from 
molestation  by  those  possessed  of  evil  spirits. 
Some  individuals  went,  or  were  led,  about  the 
country  by  their  friends,  supposed  to  be  "pos- 
sessed." At  one  time  they  affirmed  the  spirit 
could  be  exorcised  by  red  cloth,  and  at  other 
times  by  beads.  They  were  usually  well  laden 
with  such,  but  still  the  chirombo  kept  possession, 
and  many  overtures  were  made  to  me  to  help  the 
cure  by  gifts.  One  day  a  strong,  one-eyed  man, 
named  Luguta,  whom  I  well  knew  as  a  bad  char- 
acter, was  brought  to  the  station.  He  fell  down, 
and  writhed  and  roared  until  the  perspiration 
flowed  from  every  pore,  and  the  foam  fell  from 
his  mouth.  It  was  certainly  a  hideous  sight,  and 
well  calculated  to  move  anyone  to  pity  if  it  had 
been  free  from  deception.  There  was  a  band  of 
young  women  with  him,  clapping  their  hands, 
which,  they  said,  helped  to  quiet  the  spirit. 
They  pleaded  with  me  to  give  him  something 


THE  CRISIS:  IVylR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       229 

and  let  him  go.  I  spoke  to  Luguta,  but  got 
no  reply.  My  offer  to  give  him  medicine  was 
rejected  by  the  girls  at  first.  They  said  the 
spirit  wanted  beads ;  but  I  obtained  their  con- 
sent, and  went  inside  for  my  strong  ammonia, 
which  I  applied  to  Luguta's  nostrils.  It  put  an 
end  to  his  deception,  and  he  ran  off,  not  desiring 
a  second  inhalation.  I  said  to  the  girls,  '*  If  you 
hear  of  any  more  evil  spirits  bring  them  to  me, 
as  I  have  medicine  which  they  cannot  stand." 

Four  years  before  this  a  wattle-and-daub  school 
had  been  built  in  the  hope  and  belief  that  ere 
long  teaching  would  be  permitted.  This  large, 
empty  house  was  often  the  occasion  of  ridicule 
by  the  chief  and  headmen,  who  proposed  that 
we  should  keep  our  cattle  in  it.  AVhen  they 
were  told  that  we  had  built  it  as  the  school  in 
which  their  children  were  to  be  taught,  they 
asked  how  long  we  would  wait  —  till  their 
beards  had  grown  grey  ?  We  were  told  that 
the  white  ants  would  destroy  it  many  long 
years  before  it  should  be  required.  We  said 
quietly,  "  In  that  house  your  children  shall  be 
taught  while  they  are  yet  children."  These 
words  were  repeated  on  many  occasions,  when 
there  seemed  no  likelihood  of  their  being  re- 
alised ;  but  yet  it  came  to  pass,  although,  as 
we  had  said  we  would  do,  we  had  to  keep  it 


230  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

propped  with  trees  inside  and  outside.  We 
had  triumphed  and  were  glad,  yet  it  was  with 
a  feeling  of  regret  that  one  morning  we  saw 
the  house  collapse,  and  we  were  left  in  the 
middle  of  the  rainy  season  with  no  house  in 
which  to  conduct  school.  The  verandah  of 
the  dwelling-house,  however,  served  the  pur- 
pose, and  for  nearly  a  year  we  met  there. 

We  set  to  work  to  build  a  brick  school.  I 
found,  however,  that  when  I  was  engaged  in 
school-work  the  workers  in  the  brick-field  did 
nothing  at  all.  Instead  of  turning  out  twelve 
hundred  bricks  a  day,  we  got  only  four  hundred. 
I  determined  to  give  out  the  work  in  contract  to 
one  of  the  best  men  who  could  read,  at  so  much 
per  thousand  bricks.  He  was  overseer  under  me 
before,  but  was  as  dishonest  at  work  as  the  others. 
I  pointed  out  to  him  how  he  could  work  to  his 
own  advantage,  and  that  if  several  workers  could 
be  got  to  work  steadily,  all  the  others  would 
follow.  He  put  his  wives  among  the  workers 
at  the  different  jobs,  and  by  what  means  we 
need  not  inquire  he  got  them  to  lead  the  others. 
The  work  went  on.  He  had  more  than  double 
his  former  pay,  and  we  had  bricks  at  two-thirds 
the  former  cost.  This  was,  I  think,  the  first 
native  contract  for  work  in  Livingstonia,  and  I 
was  freed  from  attendance  at  the  brick-field,  and 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       231 

could  devote  myself  to  other  work.  When  the 
brick-making  was  resumed  after  the  events  to  be 
narrated  in  this  chapter,  a  contract  was  not  given. 
I  pointed  out  to  Chitezi  that  he  and  the  others 
had  now  given  proof  of  what  they  could  do  when 
working  faithfully,  and  that  as  he  was  learning 
the  Gospel  he  would  understand  what  he  should 
do  in  all  his  work.  I  showed  how  his  former 
work,  which  yielded  us  bricks  at  a  cheaper  rate 
than  before,  was  still  too  dear  for  the  Mission, 
and  that  he  would  merely  be  paid  as  overseer ; 
but  if  at  the  end  of  the  season  he  worked  satis- 
factorily, and  relieved  me  as  before,  he  would  re- 
ceive a  bonus.  This  arrangement  he  understood 
to  be  equal  to  the  ordinary  standard  of  payment 
all  over  among  the  whites.  Although  it  was  con- 
siderably less  than  he  had  received  under  contract, 
yet  to  his  credit  be  it  told,  his  work  was  satisfactory, 
and  he  received  his  bonus.  He  has  continued  ever 
since  as  a  worker  in  connection  with  the  Mission, 
although  polygamy  and  occasional  instances  of 
drunkenness  barred  his  way  into  the  Church. 

For  the  first  half  of  the  year  the  work  in  all  de- 
partments went  on  smoothly,  and  we  had  an  ever- 
widening  circle  of  adherents.  The  children  made 
fair  progress  in  school,  and  the  station  and  village 
services  were  attended  by  people  from  near  and  far. 
Mrs  Elmslie  had  got  a  fair  start  made  among  the 


232  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

girls  by  taking  some  into  the  house  for  training,  and 
by  class-work  in  the  school,  and  a  special  sewing- 
class  to  which  about  twenty  children  came. 

The  only  thing  which  arose  to  mar  our  happi- 
ness in  the  great  change  resulting  from  getting 
liberty  to  carry  on  the  work,  was  the  murder  of 
six  of  our  Tonga  carriers  on  the  road  to  Bandawe, 
by  a  band  of  Ngoni  under  Nawambi,  one  of  the 
most  notoriously  cruel  and  indomitable  warriors 
in  the  country.  The  late  Mr  M'Intyre,  teacher 
at  Bandawe,  had  come  up  to  recruit  after  illness, 
and  the  Tonga  who  carried  him  and  his  loads  to 
Njuyu  were  on  their  way  home  when  they  were 
set  upon  by  the  Ngoni  in  the  forest.  We  were 
accustomed  in  those  days  to  long  intervals  in  our 
communications  with  our  friends  outside,  as  we 
were  dependent  mainly  on  Tonga  to  act  as  bearers 
of  letters,  so  it  was  about  six  weeks  after  the 
event  before  we  knew  there  was  truth  in  the 
rumour  that  we  heard  in  Ngoniland.  We  tried 
to  get  Ngoni  to  go  with  letters  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  the  long  silence  of  our  friends,  and  our 
fears  were  increased  when  all  refused  to  go  down 
to  Bandawe.  At  last  two  slaves,  who  had  for- 
merly lived  at  the  Lake,  and  to  whom  as  we 
shall  see  we  afterwards  owed  very  much,  agreed 
to  go.  On  their  return  we  found  that  six  inno- 
cent, industrious  Tonga  had  been  killed,  and  our 


THE  CRISIS:   WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       233 

carriers  saw  their  skeletons  lying  near  the  path. 
When  we  tried  to  get  Mombera  the  chief  to  take 
up  the  case  he  declined,  not  being  anxious  to  try 
such  a  warrior  as  Nawambi  for  the  offence.  We 
even  failed  to  get  from  him  a  condemnation  of 
the  attack,  or  any  pronouncement  which  would 
tend  to  secure  for  us  and  our  carriers  a  reason- 
able measure  of  protection.  Nothing  was  said 
against  us  or  our  work,  and  we  tried  to  live 
down  the  clamouring  for  war  which  the  incident 
had  markedly  stimulated.  We  had  our  school 
and  other  work  going  on  as  before,  but  our  faith 
in  Mombera's  former  protestations  of  friendship 
was  considerably  shaken,  and  we  observed  that 
the  attitude  of  the  leaders  of  regiments,  and  many 
others,  was  less  friendly  to  us  than  before. 

We  were  well  inured  to  trouble  and  anxiety, 
but  the  continuance  of  anxious  days  and  the 
approach  of  a  gathering  storm  told  upon  both 
my  wife  and  myself,  and  we  had  a  succession  of 
attacks  of  fever  which  no  treatment  seemed  to 
abate.  Removal  to  another  district  in  Ngoni- 
land,  although  to  live  amid  the  discomforts  of  a 
native  hut,  quickly  restored  us  both.  This  was 
the  first  occasion  on  which  I  proved  the  truth  of 
Livingstone's  advice,  to  move  a  patient  to  a  differ- 
ent part  when  in  a  low  state  from  which  nothing 
seems  able  to  rally  him.     Often,  afterwards,  good 


2  34  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

resulted  from  a  change  even  from  one  house  to 
another,  or  from  one  room  to  another  in  the  same 
house.  The  natives  have  their  own  explanation 
of  such  a  thing.  They  often  carry  a  moribund 
patient  to  another  village,  or  out  into  the  bush, 
with  the  idea  of  cheating  the  evil  spirit  attacking 
him.  The  patient  recovers,  and  they  consider 
that  they  evaded  the  spirit.  They  always  have 
a  reason  for  everything  they  do,  and  in  this  con- 
nection I  might  mention  that  my  wife  when 
almost  gone  on  one  occasion,  being  exhausted 
through  a  severe  illness,  was  saved  by  being  fed 
with  raw  beef  juice.  The  natives  knew  that  she 
was  apparently  dying,  and  were  tenderly  sympa- 
thetic. When  I  had  a  bullock  killed  they  knew  it 
was  for  her,  and  the  rumour  went  round  that  despite 
all  my  preaching  I  did  exactly  as  they  did,  and 
sacrificed  a  beast  to  our  ancestral  spirit,  and  my 
wife  recovered.  Such  things  gave  opportunities  of 
meeting  their  difficulties  and  of  leading  them  out 
into  the  light.  Medical  work  was  slow  and  unsatis- 
factory for  a  long  time,  just  because  it  professed 
to  be  natural  and  not  supernatural.  Had  we  pre- 
tended to  superhuman  wisdom  we  should  have 
had  a  much  larger  following  in  less  time. 

The  explanation  of  the  attack  on  the  Tonga 
carriers  and  the  altered  disposition  of  Mombera 
and  the  Ngoni,  before  referred  to,  came  out  in 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL      235 

the  middle  of  the  year  in  connection  with  a  visit 
which  Dr  Laws  paid  to  us  in  July.    This  was  the 
first  occasion  after  his  return  from  furlough  on 
which  he  had  visited  Ngoniland  since  1883.     He 
was  put  by  the  Ngoni  in  loco  parentis  to  the 
whole  Mission,  and  hence  arose  many  of  our  diffi- 
culties, although  to  that,  I  doubt  not,  we  also 
owed  some  degree  of  safety.     At  the  time  of  his 
last  visit  to  Mombera  Dr  Laws  was  requested  to 
loring  back  with  him  bulls  to  improve  the  stock, 
woolly  sheep,  cloth,  beads,  brass  wire,  and  even  dogs, 
without  giving  him  means  to  do  so.     During  the 
years  that  elapsed  till  his  return,  his  expected 
visit  was  often  the  subject  of  conversation  among 
the  people,  but  it  was  always  in  connection  with 
the  wealth  that  he  was  expected  to  bring  to  them. 
When  Dr  Laws  visited  Ngoniland  in  July  he 
gave  a  handsome  present  to  Mombera  and  to  the 
Chipatula  family,  yet  he  was  received  with  but 
scant   courtesy  by  Mombera  and  his  headmen. 
It  was  evident  that  they  were  dissatisfied,  and 
when  reference  was  made  to  the  slaughter  of  our 
carriers  a  few  months  before,  Mombera  and  others 
made  defiant  charges  against  the  Tonga,  and  no 
satisfaction  could  be  obtained.     Mombera  would 
not  listen  to  any  serious  talk,  and  all  reference  to 
our  work  was  ridiculed.     Dr  Laws  remained  a 
week  with  us,  but  Mombera,  contrary  to  his  cus- 


236  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

torn,  paid  no  return  visit,  but  sent  begging  mes- 
sengers daily  to  the  station.  It  was  evident  to 
us  that  there  was  a  storm  brewing,  but  we  could 
not  understand  it.  About  a  fortnight  after  Dr 
Laws's  visit  rumours  of  discontent  were  afloat,  to 
which  we  paid  no  attention,  until  Mombera  him- 
self spoke  to  us  on  the  subject.  From  various 
conversations  with  the  chief,  we  became  aware 
that  the  agitation  had  not  arisen  in  the  part  of 
the  tribe  among  which  we  had  lived  and  laboured,' 
but  in  the  districts  of  the  brothers  of  Mombera, 
which  had  never  been  overtaken,  and  over  which 
our  presence  and  work  had  consequently  exercised 
no  influence.  We  had  no  doubt  of  this,  and  the 
reason  for  Mombera's  action  was  that  he  was 
being  harassed  by  his  brothers,  and  blamed  for 
keeping  to  himself  all  the  missionaries  and  the 
wealth  that  they  imagined  we  bestowed.  We 
were  told  by  Mombera  that  Dr  Laws  would  re- 
quire to  come  back  and  settle  the  questions  which 
were  agitating  the  minds  of  the  Ngoni.  These 
were  :  1.  Their  Tonga  wives  and  children  who 
ran  away  some  years  before  had  not  returned  as 
was  expected  when  the  Mission  began  work ;  and 
as  there  was  no  expectation  of  their  doing  so, 
they  had  decided  that  if  we  could  not  bring  them 
back  without  war,  they  would  fetch  them  from 
Bandawe  for  themselves  by  war.     2.  Having  as 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       237 

a  tribe  given  up  war  since  we  settled  among 
them,  and  having  as  a  consequence  become  poor, 
they  wished  to  know  how  we  were  to  enrich 
them,  as  they  expected  us  to  do  if  they  gave  up 
war.  3.  That  all  the  members  of  the  Mission 
were  to  leave  Bandawe  and  come  to  Ngoniland, 
so  that  instead  of  there  being  only  one  station 
the  whole  country  might  be  occupied. 

The  questions  were  formidable  enough,  and  it 
now  became  apparent  to  us  that  we  would  have 
to  deal  with  the  clamourings  of  Mombera's 
brothers  who  were  chiefs  of  large  districts.  We 
were  thrown  into  great  anxiety,  as  there  seemed 
to  be  no  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  The  first 
question  had  always  been  a  source  of  trouble  to 
us,  and  as  the  years  went  on  their  jealousy  of 
the  Tonga  increased,  because  they  considered 
them  as  more  favoured  by  having  the  head 
station  am(jug  them,  and  imagined  that  they 
received  uu limited  supplies  of  cloth  and  beads. 
The  second  was  likewise  present  always,  but  its 
prominence  was  waning,  as  our  work  had  greatly 
turned  it  out  of  the  minds  of  Mombera  and  his 
own  retainers,  but  to  have  to  begin  to  fight  the 
other  chiefs  on  this  ground  filled  us  with  great 
fear  for  the  safety  of  our  work  even  among 
Mombera's  people.  The  third  question  showed 
that  it  was  not  missionaries  but  calico-distributors 


238  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

that  Mombera's  brothers  desired.  The  reason  of 
their  desire  to  have  all  the  missionaries  in  Ngoni- 
land  was,  that  they  might  retain  us  and  yet  have 
freedom  to  wage  war  on  the  surrounding  tribes. 

The  situation  was  at  least  clear  to  us,  and  we 
could  set  about  making  our  arrangements.  As 
the  continuance  of  the  work  at  Bandawe  de- 
pended on  the  attitude  of  the  Ngoni  towards  the 
Tonga,  we  in  Ngoniland  had  to  act  in  concert 
with  the  brethren  there.  Our  dilemma  was  this  : 
Ngoniland  could  be  held  by  agreeing  to  Ngoni 
demands,  but  that  involved  casting  away  the 
Tonga  and  leaving  them  to  the  inhuman  attacks 
of  the  Ngoni.  They  had  helped  in  opening  up 
Ngoniland — some  of  them  even  losing  their  lives 
in  our  service — therefore  on  no  account  could  we 
think  of  that.  But  if  Ngoniland  could  not  be 
held,  neither  could  Bandawe,  and  the  Tonga  and 
we  together  would  suffer.  Yet  to  accept  the 
Ngoni  proposals  would  have  been  to  take  sides 
with  them  against  the  Tonga,  and  not  for  a 
moment  did  we  think  of  doing  so. 

I  wrote  and  urged  Dr  Laws  to  come  up  and 
meet  the  Ngoni  with  George  Williams  (the  Kafir 
Missionary)  and  myself.  At  this  time  we  suf- 
fered under  a  heavy  family  affliction,  and  my 
wife  was  lying  helpless  in  bed.  Around  us  were 
the  Ngoni  in  a  very  unsettled  state,  engaging  in 


THE  CRISIS:  IV J R,  OR  THE  GOSPEL      239 

war-dances  every  day.  Below  the  house  near 
the  river  the  armies  of  Mtwaro  and  Maurau, 
Mombera's  brothers,  were  encamped,  bent  on 
some  expedition,  the  nature  of  which  was  hid 
from  us.  To  complicate  matters,  the  road  to 
Bandawe  was  closed,  and  carriers  could  not  be 
got  to  go  down.  It  was  a  time  of  terrible  sus- 
pense, and  although  not  of  personal  danger  we 
believed,  the  fear  that  our  work  among  the  Ngoni 
and  at  Bandawe  might  be  ruined,  filled  our  minds 
with  uncertainty  and  distress.  It  seemed  the 
darkest  hour  of  our  life  among  the  Ngoni,  and 
our  neighbours  were  afraid  to  be  on  intimate 
terms  with  us. 

When  letters  passed  between  us  Dr  Laws  and 
I  decided  that  as  there  did  not  seem  to  be  much 
prospect  of  a  peaceable  settlement,  we  should 
endeavour  to  prepare  at  both  places  for  being 
driven  out.  Our  situation  in  Ngoniland  was 
anything  but  pleasant  or  easy.  Our  letter- 
carriers  were  the  two  slaves  before  referred  to, 
and  in  their  journeys  to  and  from  the  Lake  they 
left  the  usual  paths  and  travelled  in  the  bush. 
They  were  trusty  fellows  and  were  the  only  ones 
in  whom  we  could  confide.  They  received  their 
letters  or  loads  at  night  and  started  ofi",  getting 
well  into  the  bush  before  daylight. 

It  was  evident  to  us  that  in  our  possible  ex- 


24©  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

pulsion  from  Ngoniland  we  should  be  unable  to 
take  anything  with  us,  so  we  set  about  the  saving 
of  the  most  valuable  of  the  Mission  property.  It 
is  fortunate  that  on  such  occasions  a  missionary's 
own  possessions  do  not  usually  stand  very  much 
in  the  way,  and  I  had  only  my  microscope  and 
books  to  be  a  great  care  at  the  time.  We  could 
not  send  away  many  things,  so  our  first  care  was 
to  get  the  valuable  surgical  instruments  sent  off. 
We  could  only  send  small  parcels  as  our  carriers 
had  rough  ground  to  traverse,  without  paths. 
Over  £100  worth  of  instruments  were  quietly 
despatched,  and  then  my  microscope  followed. 
Everything  else  had  to  be  disposed  of  otherwise 
or  left  in  the  house.  My  books  I  put  in  tin- 
lined  boxes  and  buried  in  the  ground.  Other 
things  were  treated  in  the  same  way.  The  well- 
stocked  dispensary  presented  a  difficulty.  I  could 
not  close  it  or  have  the  shelves  emptied  lest  sus- 
picion should  be  aroused.  I  chose  several  spots 
in  the  garden  and  in  one  of  the  stores,  and  buried 
the  medicines.  It  was  the  height  of  the  dry 
season  and  the  ground  was  hard  as  stone.  I 
went  out  for  several  nights  about  one  o'clock,  and 
by  means  of  an  auger  bored  the  ground  under 
cover  of  darkness  and  scooped  it  out  with  my 
hands,  not  daring  to  use  any  tool  lest  the  sound 
should  attract  any  one  who  might  be  out  of 
doors.     We  could  not  trust  even  our  house  boys. 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       241 

All  the  while  that  this  was  going  on,  my  wife 
was  lying  weak  and  helpless  in  bed,  no  doubt 
greatly  hindered  in  her  convalescence  by  the 
anxieties  of  the  hour.  For  several  hours  every 
night  I  dug  up  the  earth  and  made  pits  in  which 
to  bury  the  medicines,  anon  running  in  to  pass  a 
few  minutes  with  my  wife  in  her  weakness.  It 
was  easy  work  secreting  the  stoppered  bottles.  I 
knew  the  labels  would  be  destroyed  by  white 
ants,  so  to  preserve  the  names  of  the  drugs  in 
the  several  bottles,  I  scratched  a  number  on  each 
bottle  and  carefully  noted  it  in  a  book.  For 
corked  bottles,  jars,  etc.,  which  could  not  be 
buried,  I  adopted  the  plan  of  putting  them  into 
an  empty  flour-tin,  and  soldering  it  up.  In  this 
way  nearly  all  the  drugs  were  preserved  against 
the  worst  which  we  feared,  and  a  plan  of  the 
station  was  made,  and  the  spots  where  the  things 
were  hid,  carefully  marked.  A  copy  was  sent  to 
Bandawe  and  to  one  of  the  other  stations,  and  I 
pocketed  one  to  carry  wath  me.  In  digging  in 
the  store  I  had  to  lift  a  brick  floor.  I  could  only 
work  at  this  when  the  servants  were  out  of  the 
house,  and  they  had  a  high  time  of  play  for  some 
days,  as  they  were  granted  an  unusual  amount 
of  leave.  The  earth  taken  out  had  to  be  carried 
away  at  night.  There  was  a  sense  of  relief  w^hen 
so  much  of  the  Mission  property  was  made  secure, 

Q 


242  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

although  at  the  time  the  air  was  filled  with  the 
sound  of  war-dances,  and  armed  parties  were 
collecting  at  the  chiefs  village  for  review. 

It  was  an  occasion  requiring  great  prudence, 
and  we  had  to  act  in  Ngoniland,  not  only  because 
of  our  own  position,  but  to  give  Dr  Laws  time 
to  arrange  matters  at  Bandawe.  Dr  Laws  was 
aware  that  there  would  probably  be  trouble  with 
the  Tonga.  He  found  that,  as  on  former  occa- 
sions, they  demanded  the  assistance  of  the  white 
men  in  meeting  the  Ngoni,  and  some  even  pro- 
posed that  they  should  accompany  them  in  a 
Tonga  invasion  of  Ngoniland.  In  the  middle  of 
September  Dr  Laws  gathered  the  Tonga  together, 
and  put  before  them  the  whole  situation,  as  it 
came  out  in  the  questions  the  Ngoni  proposed 
for  discussion.  They  declined  to  give  up  the 
women  and  children  whom  the  Ngoni  claimed, 
as  the  Ngoni  had  stolen  them  in  the  first  instance. 
By  the  Lake  steamer  which  had  brought  rein- 
forcements for  the  Mission,  some  goods  were  sent 
away  from  Bandawe,  and  also  native  women  and 
children  belonging  to  Cape  Maclear.  The  Ngoni 
were  clamouring  for  Dr  Laws,  and  we  had  to  put 
off  fixing  a  date  for  the  meeting  until  he  could 
see  his  way  to  leave  his  fellow-members  safe  at 
Bandawe.  We  had  to  try  and  arrange  so  that 
the  flight  of  the  Bandawe  staff  should  be  possible 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL      243 

in  the  event  of  war,  leaving  us  on  the  hills,  with 
Dr  Laws  and  the  faithful  Tonga  he  was  to  bring 
w^ith  him,  free  to  act  according  to  circumstances. 
All  seemed  to  go  well  for  a  time.  We  had 
managed  to  get  the  more  valuable  Mission 
property  away  to  Bandawe,  and  Dr  Laws  had 
sent  that  and  also  much  of  the  Bandawe  goods 
away  to  Cape  Maclear,  and  the  steamer  had 
returned  to  stand  by  and  take  away  the  rest 
of  the  staff  if  need  be.  But  just  as  Dr  Laws 
saw  all  this  arranged  and  was  ready  to  come 
to  Ngoniland,  his  difficulties  at  Bandawe  were 
suddenly  and  greatly  increased,  and  we  had 
again  to  postpone  the  date  of  meeting.  The 
Tonga  had  become  suspicious  of  the  movements 
made  at  Bandawe,  and  prevented  the  embarking 
of  passengers  or  goods  on  the  steamer.  The 
roads  were  watched  day  and  night  lest  an  at- 
tempt should  be  made  by  any  one  to  go  away, 
as  they  feared  that  if  once  the  white  men  left 
Bandawe  they  would  be  destroyed  by  the  Ngoni. 
It  was  therefore  impossible  for  Dr  Laws  to  come 
up  before  the  end  of  October,  and  even  then  he 
had  the  anxiety  of  knowing  that  the  fickle  Tonga 
were  surrounding  the  station,  and  that  not  one 
but  all  at  Bandawe  and  in  Ngoniland  were  now 
forced  to  await  on  the  spot  whatever  the  issue 
might  be.     We  knew  from  the  first  that  we  in 


244  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

Ngoniland  had  to  wait,  but  it  was  not  expected 
that  the  Tonga  would  rise  as  they  did  and  thwart 
the  best  efforts  of  Dr  Laws  who,  with  us,  was 
enduring  all  the  trouble  on  their  account.  As  he 
wrote  to  me  at  the  time,  "  The  matter  comes  to 
this,  we  must  do  our  best  to  stick  to  both  stations 
if  it  is  possible  for  you  up  there  to  do  so  with 
safety.  If  you  must  leave,  then  some  other  point 
than  Bandawe  must  be  the  point  aimed  at  on  our 
return,  for  to  come  here  would  be  simply  to  be 
fixed  in  a  trap  with  the  rest  of  us.  To-night  I 
feel  that  here  I  have  sought  to  do  everything 
that  prudence  might  suggest  for  the  safety  of 
lives  and  property.  Now  we  are  hemmed  in, 
and  we  can  only  await  to  see  what  may  be  the 
next  indications  of  God's  providence,  trusting 
our  Heavenly  Father  to  guide  us  to  do  what  is 
right,  just  and  true,  and  altogether  according  to 
His  holy  will."  For  a  month  longer  the  suspense 
had  to  be  endured,  and  the  letters  which  we  were 
at  times  able  to  send  each  other  are  full  of  what 
was  ia  our  minds,  and  what  was  so  prominent  a 
subject  in  our  prayers.  Each  letter  was  closed, 
not  knowing  what  might  transpire  before  another 
could  be  sent,  and  gave  indications  of  what  was 
to  be  done  should  the  Ngoni  rise  up.  We  had 
to  hide  from  the  Ngoni  the  cause  of  Dr  Laws' 
delay  in  coming  up.     Had  they  known  of  the 


THE  CRISIS:  WAR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       245 

action  of  the  Tonga  at  Bandawe  they  would  have 
gone  down  with  war.  We  had  to  trust  our  two 
faithful  slave-carriers  not  to  reveal  what  they  saw 
and  heard  at  Bandawe,  and  throughout  it  all 
they  were  faithful  to  the  trust.  At  this  time 
the  Ngoni  army  went  out,  and  conflicting  rumours 
of  its  destination  only  added  to  our  anxiety.  It 
went,  however,  to  attack  some  Arabs  and  Bemba 
towards  the  North- West. 

At  length,  on  the  27th  October  1887,  the  great 
meeting  of  the  chief  Mombera  and  his  headmen 
with  us  was  convened.  We  met  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  did  not  end  the  indaha  until 
four  in  the  afternoon,  and  thus  sat  in  the  open 
cattle-fold  under  a  hot  tropical  sun  for  eight 
hours,  the  discomfort  to  Dr  Laws  being  very 
great  as  he  was  suffering  from  fever  and  had  to 
go  to  bed  for  two  days  when  he  returned  to  the 
station.  When  the  indaha  began  we  were  asked 
to  state  what  we  had  to  say,  but  we  refused  to 
begin,  saying  that  they  had  called  us  and  we 
would  hear  them.  Mombera  thereupon  said  that 
all  the  missionaries  must  come  and  live  with 
them,  and  leave  them  free  to  attack  their  former 
slaves,  the  Tonga,  We  reasoned  with  them  about 
the  necessity  of  having  a  station  at  the  Port  of 
Bandawe  in  order  even  to  carry  on  the  work 
among  the  Ngoni  on  the  hills.     They  conceded 


246  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

the  point,  but  when  it  came  to  the  question  of 
fighting  the  Tonga,  we  had  to  spend  hours  of 
talk  ere  we  got  the  concession  that  no  war  should 
be  carried  to  the  neighbourhood  of  our  station  at 
Bandawe.  The  embassy  from  Mtwaro  was  not 
agreeable  to  any  cessation  of  war,  and  at  length 
declared  that  they  at  their  end  of  the  country 
never  saw  us  or  received  anything  from  us,  and 
they  were  determined  not  to  submit  to  stay  at 
home  while  we  went  up  and  down  to  the  Lake. 
Our  road,  they  said,  did  not  lead  past  them  and 
there  were  no  crumbs  for  them.  We  seized  upon 
this  remark  and  offered  to  open  a  station  in 
Mtwaro's  district,  which  satisfied  them.  We 
could  have  told  them  that  we  had  tried  for  years 
to  enter  their  region  but  were  hindered  by 
Mombera;  we  refrained  in  the  circumstances. 

The  only  man  that  day  who  could  not  be  won 
over  was  Mombera,  but  as  it  was  a  tribal  matter 
the  decision  of  the  councillors  was  binding  on 
him  and  the  matter  ended.  The  story  is  soon 
told,  but  as  the  day  went  on  the  demands  of 
the  Ngoni  were  crushing  to  our  hopes  of  peace, 
and  we  had  even  begun  between  ourselves  to 
formulate  a  plan  for  saving  Ngoniland  and 
Bandawe  by  Dr  Laws  himself  exchanging  stations 
with  me  for  a  time.  As  Dr  Laws  wrote  at  the 
time,  he  "  well  knew  the  worth  of  their  request  to 


THE  CRISIS:  WJR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL      247 

have  him,  that  it  was  simply  inspired  by  the 
desire  to  squeeze  as  much  calico,  etc.  out  of  us  as 
possible."  But  from  the  quarter  whence  came 
the  heaviest  assault  that  day  —  Mtwaro  —  the 
solution  came  also,  when  his  ambassador  desired 
to  have  a  station  in  their  district.  With  light 
hearts  we  went  home  and  soon  messengers  were 
speeding  through  the  forest,  over  hill  and 
mountain-torrent,  bearing  the  glad  news  to  our 
friends  who  had  meanwhile  been  left  in  un- 
certainty at  Bandawe,  and  hearty  were  our 
praises  that  night  at  worship  with  the  natives. 
The  Tonga  who  had  come  up  with  Dr  Laws  had 
been  confined  to  the  station,  but  now  they  freely 
and  joyfully  mixed  with  our  Ngoni  neighbours. 
Peace  had  been  declared  and  at  no  time  since  has 
it  been  broken.  On  one  occasion  years  after,  when 
some  wild  youths  went  on  a  marauding  expedition 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Bandawe,  Mombera,  the 
chief,  called  them  up.  He  said,  "You  are  not 
chief.  I  am  chief.  You  went  to  Bandawe  with 
war.  Cut  their  legs,"  and  they  were  thereupon 
hamstrung.  "You  killed  Tonga.  Cut  their 
wrists,"  and  the  tendons  were  divided,  and  the 
miserable  wretches  crawled  away  to  hide  and  die. 
We  had  also  received  an  invitation  to  visit 
Mtwaro,  between  whom  and  the  chief  Mombera, 
his  brother,  there  was  a  feud  at  that  time.     Each 


248  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

blamed  the  other,  as  was  referred  to  in  a  former 
chapter,  and  while  under  Mombera  we  were  not 
permitted  to  visit  Mtwaro.  When,  a  few  days 
after  the  indaha,  Mahaluli,  Mtwaro's  ambassador, 
visited  us,  we  desired  him  to  settle  with  the  chief 
that  we  be  permitted  to  accept  the  invitation. 
He  did  so,  and  we  lost  no  time  in  going  to 
Mtwaro.  Our  way  was  plainer  than  on  a 
former  occasion,  when  we  went  to  treat  a 
child  of  Mtwaro's,  who  was  sick.  We  received 
a  hearty  welcome,  and  when  the  boy  who  had 
been  sick  was  brought  out  and  proudly  shown 
as  now  in  good  health  through  the  white  man's 
medicine,  it  was  evident  that  the  effects  of  the 
medical  work  were  wider  than  in  the  good  re- 
covery of  the  lad.  Some  days  were  spent  at 
Mtwaro's,  and  a  frank  invitation  to  remain 
among  them  was  addressed  to  us.  They  had 
heard  of  the  medical  work,  and  they  wanted  a 
medical  man.  They  had  heard  that  we  were 
rich,  and  would  give  them  much  cloth.  When 
we  spoke  about  our  work,  they  were  not  sure 
if  they  should  give  their  children  to  be  taught. 
The  old  fear  that  they  would  be  bewitched  by 
our  words,  and  would  not  engage  in  war,  was 
expressed.  They  had  heard  of  the  Book,  and 
what  it  had  done,  but  they  thought  we  our- 
selves  should    "practise   the   Book,"    and   give 


THE  CRISIS:  IV JR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL       249 

rain  and  good  crops  and  success  in  battle,  but 
leave  the  children  alone.  We  were  prepared 
to  hear  such  things,  and  illustrated  how  they 
should  think  otherwise.  We  had  with  us 
Njuyu  boys,  who  could  read  and  write,  and 
we  astonished  them  by  showing  what  could  be 
done  by  means  of  writing.  A  boy  was  sent 
out,  and  then  the  chief  dictated  certain  words, 
which  I  wrote  down,  and  the  boy  on  being  re- 
called read  them.  I  was  then  sent  out,  and 
things  were  hidden,  and  I  was  requested  to 
say  what  they  were  and  by  whom  secreted, 
which  I  did  as  the  boy  had  written  them 
down.  But  it  appeared  to  them  as  if  it  were 
only  the  magic  of  their  witch  -  doctors,  and 
they  thought  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  let 
all  the  children  into  the  secret.  When  we 
came  to  talk  about  God  and  His  Word  some 
of  the  old  men  left,  being  afraid ;  but  before 
the  visit  ended  we  were  permitted  to  conduct 
a  service,  and  in  the  singing  they  were  specially 
interested.  We  were  ofifered  a  site  for  a  house 
and  garden,  and  requested  to  come  and  build. 

Another  visit  of  importance  was  thereafter 
paid  to  Ng'onomo,  the  Prime  Minister  of 
Mombera.  He  was  a  very  old  friend,  but  was 
the  leader  of  a  large  army,  and  frequently  out 
raiding.      He    invited   myself  and  my  wife  to 


250  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

"come  one  day,  stay  two  days,  and  leave  on 
the  fourth  day."  We  were  received  in  a  friendly 
manner,  and  as  a  Sunday  intervened  we  held  a 
service.  He  did  not  attend,  but  ordered  his 
people  to  do  so,  and  we  had  a  large  gathering 
near  our  tent.  It  was  the  first  Christian  service 
ever  held  in  the  district,  and,  for  uproarious  be- 
haviour of  the  audience,  was  never  surpassed  any- 
where. They  roared  with  laughter  when  we  and 
our  Njuyu  men  closed  our  eyes  in  prayer.  Some 
men  who  had  been  at  an  Njuyu  service  under- 
stood our  object,  and  tried  to  quiet  the  people. 
That  was  not  easily  done,  and  they  fell  to  curs- 
ing and  swearing  while  the  prayer  went  on.  An 
address  followed,  which  was  listened  to  with  some 
attention.  The  chief,  Mombera,  arrived  while  we 
were  there  with  a  large  retinue,  to  pay  Ng  onomo 
a  visit.  Cattle  were  killed,  and  large  quantities 
of  beer  were  brought  in  from  other  villages.  The 
Sunday  was  spent  in  riot,  and  the  only  quiet  we 
could  get  was  by  going  out  to  the  bush  and  spend- 
ing some  of  our  time  there.  We  were  close  to  the 
Hora  Mountain,  and  the  ground  was  strewn  with 
human  skeletons — the  remains  of  the  poor  Tum- 
buka  who  were  slaughtered  some  years  before  by 
the  Ngoni.  The  arrival  of  the  chief,  and  the  de- 
bauchery which  ensued,  prevented  all  serious  talk 
with  Ng'onomo,  and  we  were  glad  when  we  could 
leave  the  place  and  return  home. 


THE  CRISIS:  WylR,  OR  THE  GOSPEL      251 

When  we  again  settled  down  at  Njuyu  the 
work,  which  had  all  been  interrupted,  was  re- 
sumed, and  the  school  and  services  at  Chinyera, 
five  miles  distant,  were  begun  again  by  Mr 
Williams.  We  also  set  about  transferring  our 
medicines  from  their  place  in  the  garden  to 
the  dispensary  shelves,  and  under  cover  of 
darkness  that  was  done.  They  were  uninjured 
by  being  buried,  and  we  restored  the  labels. 
Books  sufiered,  and  certain  other  things  buried 
in  insecurely -closed  boxes;  but  we  were  too 
overjoyed  at  the  safety  of  the  work  to  be 
pained  by  our  losses.  In  a  short  time  all  was 
as  before,  and  we  had  our  hands  full. 

The  rainy  season  of  1887-8  passed  without 
trouble  to  us,  and  during  the  next  two  years 
we  greatly  extended  our  work  of  preaching  and 
healing  as  we  were  free  to  move  about  almost 
everywhere.  We  were  unable,  for  want  of  a 
man,  to  open  the  station  at  Mtwaro's  till  near 
the  end  of  1889,  when  Mr  and  Mrs  M'Callum, 
from  Bandawe,  began  work  there,  and  conserved 
the  results  of  our  frequent  visits  and  operations 
there  in  the  interval,  proving  earnest  workers  in 
a  field  where  many  difficulties  were  present.  Our 
attempt  to  gain  access  to  a  large  district  under 
another  brother  of  Mombera,  named  Mperembe, 
proved  futile,   as  we  were  repulsed  on  several 


252  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

occasions  because  we  would  not  pay  our  way 
by  presents  of  cloth  and  other  goods. 

For  a  few  months  in  1889  I  had  the  assistance 
of  a  European  at  Njuyu,  and  school-work  flour- 
ished. On  his  retiring,  Mr  Charles  Stuart,  who 
had  newly  arrived  to  reinforce  the  stafi",  was 
located  at  Njuyu,  and  had  to  take  up  the  whole 
work.  As  in  the  end  of  January  1890,  I  had  to 
go  to  Bandawe  to  relieve  Dr  Laws  who  was  ill, 
and  thereafter  in  May  to  start  for  home  on  fur- 
lough, which  was  considerably  overdue.  Ere 
leaving,  however,  I  was  privileged  to  see  the 
accessions  to  our  staff;  the  baptism  of  our 
first  converts,  Mawalera  and  Makara,  two  of 
those  who  came  by  night  to  be  taught  in  the 
dark  days  of  our  history ;  the  extension  of 
the  work  to  Chinyera  and  Ekwendeni,  and 
the  institution  of  five  schools.  A  beginning 
had  been  made,  and  the  long,  weary  years 
of  waiting  crowned  with  liberty  to  go  about 
and  "heal  the  sick,  .  .  .  and  say  unto  them, 
The  Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you." 
Our  fallen  wattle-and-daub  school  was  replaced 
by  a  brick  building,  which  in  a  few  months 
proved  too  small  to  accommodate  the  scholars, 
and  was  replaced  by  a  large,  brick  school, 
which  in  its  turn  had  to  be  enlarged. 


Dk   STEELE. 


CHAPTER  XII 

IN    MEMORIAM  :    REV.    GEORGE    STEELE,    M.B.,    CM. 

FROM  1890  to  1895  the  work  in  Ngoniland 
was  superintended  by  Dr  Steele,  who  was 
appointed  to  relieve  me  on  my  departure  on 
furlough.  His  arrival,  as  the  previous  chapter 
indicates,  was  at  a  time  when  a  distinct  stage 
in  the  work  had  been  passed  and  a  new  era 
begun.  The  formal  consent  of  the  chief  and 
most  of  his  head-men  had  been  obtained,  and 
advantage  of  the  opportunities  offered  had  been 
taken.  The  nature  of  our  work  had  become 
more  apparent,  and  it  had  begun  to  bear  dis- 
tinct fruit.  Death  had  come  and  claimed 
two  who  fought  bravely  in  the  early  battles. 
George  Williams  had  resigned  and  returned  to 
the  Colony,  and  two  additional  white  men  had 
been  initiated  in  the  work,  so  that  with  increased 
and  more  earnest  attendance  at  school  and  service 
in  three  distinct  districts,  with  a  roll  of  two  Church 
members,  the  position  of  the  work  on  his  arrival 
was  full  of  rich  promise.     It  is  a  long  story  to 

253 


254  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

confine  to  the  limits  of  a  single  chapter,  but  the 
tale  of  the  work  during  those  years  may  fittingly 
enough  be  associated  with  the  name  of  our  dear 
departed  fellow-worker,  whose  death  took  place 
at  Ekwendeni  on  June  26th,  1895,  when  he 
was  on  the  point  of  going  home  for  his  first 
furlough. 

Dr  Steele  was  the  youngest  of  seven  children, 
and  when  only  two  years  old  was  deprived  of 
both  father  and  mother  within  the  space  of  three 
months.  The  eldest  was  only  seventeen,  and  she 
and  the  older  of  the  brothers  determined  that, 
however  dark  were  their  prospects,  they  would 
endeavour  to  keep  the  family  together,  and  take 
upon  themselves  the  care  and  support  of  the 
younger  members.  At  the  age  of  eight  he 
entered  the  Buchanan  Institution  in  Glasgow 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  thirteen, 
receiving  a  good  elementary  education  there 
which  proved  a  sound  foundation  on  which, 
by  his  own  ardent  eff'orts,  he  ultimately  pro- 
ceeded to  academic  distinction  in  Glasgow 
University.  On  leaving  school  he  entered  a 
drapery  establishment,  where  for  some  years 
he  remained  and  carried  out  his  work  with 
his  naturally  exact  and  painstaking  fidelity. 
At  this  time  his  brother  Eichard  (next  in  age 
to   Mary  the  eldest)    had   commenced   business 


IN  MEMORIAM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     255 

in  the  boot  and  shoe  line,  and  Tom,  another 
brother,  assisted  him.  Tom,  however,  deter- 
mined to  study  for  the  ministry.  During 
Mr  Moody's  first  visit  to  Glasgow,  he  was  one 
of  the  hundred  young  men  who  ofiered  them- 
selves for  service  in  the  Lord's  cause,  and  for 
whom  arrangements  were  made  for  special 
evening  classes  to  enable  them  to  carry  out 
their  intentions.  Tom  eventually  passed  into 
the  University,  giving  up  his  situation  with 
his  brother,  and  George  left  his  work  in  the 
drapery  establishment  to  take  Tom's  place. 
The  boot  and  shoe  business  supplied  but  a 
very  moderate  income,  on  which  the  family 
depended,  but  indomitable  perseverance  and  a 
strong  family  affection  kept  them  together. 
Tom  at  length  passed  through  the  University 
and  the  Divinity  Hall,  and  is  now  a  licensed 
minister  in  the  Colonial  field. 

When  George  was  twenty  years  of  age  his 
future  became  a  matter  of  concern  to  him.  He 
had  given  himself  to  the  Lord  in  heart,  and  now 
he  desired  to  give  his  life  to  His  service.  His 
brother  Richard  encouraged  and  helped  him,  and 
so  he  began  to  prepare  for  entering  College  with 
a  view  to  become  a  medical  missionary.  He  at- 
tended evening  classes  for  four  years,  and  con- 
tinued to  work  under  his  brother  in  the  shop. 


256  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

His  progress  at  evening  school  was  good,  because 
hie  studied  faithfully,  and  took  from  the  hours 
for  sleep  what  time  his  attention  to  business 
deprived  him  of.  At  length  he  entered  the 
University,  and  it  was  only  then  that  the 
strain  of  the  financial  struggle  began.  His 
brother  Richard  had  given  up  his  business  and 
had  followed  Tom  to  Australia,  and  now  George 
was  thrown  entirely  on  his  own  resources.  It  is 
an  oft-told  tale  of  hard  work,  high  ideals  and 
aspirations,  overcoming  in  great  trials.  But  by 
rigid  economy  practised  in  all  details  of  his 
life,  without  meanness  or  disregard  for  the 
position  he  occupied,  and  for  which  he  had  to 
commend  himself  by  habit  and  personal  ap- 
pearance, and  above  all  with  an  implicit  faith 
in  God,  he  passed  through  the  medical  curri- 
culum and  graduated,  the  possessor  of  the 
coveted  degrees  in  Medicine  and  Surgery.  The 
same  story  might  be  told  of  many  in  our 
Scottish  Colleges,  and  the  case  of  Livingstone 
was  no  doubt  a  stimulus  to  him  who  was  to 
be  one  of  his  direct  successors  in  the  great  work 
of  the  emancipation  of  Africa  and  its  ingathering 
to  Christ. 

When  Dr  Steele  was  attending  Glasgow  Uni- 
versity he  was  one  of  a  band  of  noble  young  men 
who  have,  like  him,  entered  the  field  as  medical 


IN  MEMORIAM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     257 

missionaries.  It  is  something  to  know  a  man's 
friends,  especially  his  College  companions,  and 
I  need  only  refer  to  Eev.  Drs  Mowat,  Sandilands, 
Macphail  and  Revie,  all  in  the  India  Mission 
field.  Before  entering  on  the  record  of  Dr 
Steele's  work  in  Livingstonia,  I  have  pleasure 
in  giving  the  tribute  of  Dr  Macphail  to  the 
memory  of  his  companion  and  friend. 

"  It  was  my  privilege,  from  1884  to  1889,  to 
have  the  late  George  Steele  as  a  class-fellow  at- 
tending the  medical  classes  at  Glasgow  University, 
and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  have  an  opportunity  of 
adding  my  tribute  to  his  worth.  In  the  year 
1884  the  religious  movement  among  students, 
identified  with  the  name  of  Professor  Henry 
Drummond,  spread  from  Edinburgh  to  Glasgow, 
and  was  the  means  not  only  of  leading  many  of 
the  students  to  devote  themselves  to  the  service 
of  Christ,  but  also  of  bringing  those  who  had 
already  given  themselves  to  it  into  closer  fellow- 
ship with  each  other.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
George  Steele  became  intimately  known  to  me ; 
it  was  the  beginning  of  a  friendship  which  we 
maintained  in  after  years  by  correspondence 
when  he  was  in  Central  Africa  and  I  in  India, 
and  which  was  only  brought  to  a  close  by  his 
lamented  death.  He  threw  himself  heart  and 
soul  into  this  movement,  willingly  lent  his  aid 


258  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

to  the  work,  and  also  joined  a  small  society, 
which  consisted  of  students  who  had  dedicated 
themselves  to  foreign  mission  work.  He  was  a 
very  diligent,  hard-working  student ;  and  like 
so  many  others  in  our  Scottish  Universities,  had 
to  maintain  an  incessant  struggle  with  adverse 
circumstances  while  pursuing  his  studies.  But 
this  did  not  prevent  him  either  from  retaining 
through  it  all  a  very  happy-hearted,  cheerful 
disposition,  or  from  taking  a  large  share  in 
the  work  of  our  Christian  societies.  For  a 
season  he  was  President  of  our  Foreign  Mission 
Students'  Union — afterwards  amalgamated  with 
the  Volunteer  Union — and  many  of  us  remember 
with  pleasure  the  papers  he  contributed  to  our 
meetings.  Towards  the  end  of  his  College 
course  he  was  appointed  assistant  at  the  South- 
side  Medical  Mission,  and  soon  earned  the  grati- 
tude and  affection  of  the  poor  people  to  whom  he 
ministered  his  kindness  and  skill.  At  the  same 
time  the  thoroughness  of  his  class-work  was 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  won  the  medal 
in  session  1887-8  in  the  Junior  Division  of 
Professor  M'Call  Anderson's  class  of  clinical 
medicine — an  honour  which  brought  almost  as 
much  gratification  to  all  of  us  who  knew  him 
as  to  himself.  It  was  some  recognition  of  the 
conscientious,   painstaking   spirit  which    charac- 


IN  MEMORUM:  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     259 

terised  him  in  all  lie  did,  and  was  all  the  more 
creditable  to  him  because  he  was  one  of  those  who 
worked  not  for  academic  distinction  but  to  qualify 
himself  for  the  service  of  Christ  and  humanity. 

''We  spent  a  short  holiday  together  in  Arran 
before  I  sailed  for  India  in  1889,  and  in  the  days 
of  recreation  one  learned  to  love  and  admire  him 
as  much  as  in  the  hours  of  labour.  His  nature 
was  singularly  bright  and  buoyant,  and  his  keen 
interest  in  botany  and  natural  history  added 
greatly  to  his  enjoyment  of  country  life. 

"Like  most  of  those  who  have  been  led  to  serve 
the  Master  in  the  foreign  field,  he  was  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  work  of  Christ  at  home.  He  was 
always  a  loyal  son  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land, and  was  warmly  attached  to  Free  St  James' 
Church  in  Glasgow,  a  congregation  which  showed 
their  appreciation  of  him  by  contributing  largely 
to  his  surgical  equipment  when  he  left  for  Livtno-- 
stonia.  Of  his  work  in  Africa  he  often  wrote  to 
me  in  terms  which  showed  how  much  he  loved  it. 
His  brief  sketch  of  camp  life  among  the  Ngoni 
I  read  with  very  great  interest. 

"  It  was  with  very  real  sorrow  that  I  heard 
of  his  death.  Neither  time  nor  distance  had 
lessened  our  friendship,  or  my  regard  for  one 
whose  memory  I  shall  always  cherish  as  one 
of  my  most  treasured  possessions." 


26o  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONl 

My  first  meeting  with  Dr  Steele  was  on  board 
the  Couiiand  in  June  1890,  in  the  Quilimane 
river.  His  appointment  to  Livingstonia  had 
been  made  known  six  months  before,  but  cir- 
cumstances had  rendered  my  departure  neces- 
sary before  he  arrived.  When  the  steamer 
arrived  1  went  on  board,  and  found  him  with 
Messrs  James  and  George  Aitken  for  Living- 
stonia, and  six  young  men  for  the  African  Lakes' 
Company.  All  were  full  of  life  and  hope,  and 
yet  only  two  of  the  party  were  spared  in  health 
to  return  at  the  end  of  five  years.  Such  is  the  sad 
side  of  life  in  tropical  Africa !  I  spent  several 
days  with  Dr  Steele,  and  saw  him  away  in  the 
boat  for  his  first  and  last  journey  up  the  Kwakwa 
river.  He  entered  Africa  full  of  buoyant  hope, 
and  during  those  few  days,  from  the  questions  he 
put  and  the  views  he  expressed,  I  was  greatly 
impressed  with  his  suitability  for  the  work  among 
the  Ngoni  to  which  he  was  appointed. 

His  introduction  to  African  life  was  of  an  un- 
usual description.  He  was  at  Quilimane  at  the 
time  of  the  Anglo-Portuguese  difiiculties  over 
the  opening  of  the  Zambezi  and  Shire  rivers,  and 
the  passage  up  the  latter  was  made  at  one  point 
through  a  shower  of  bullets  from  the  Portuguese 
guns  at  the  Ruo.  The  late  Joseph  Thomson,  the 
African  traveller,  was  with  them  on  the  steamer, 


IN  MEMORIAM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     261 

and  his  experience  and  ability  got  them  safely 
beyond  these  opposing  Portuguese.  Dr  Steele's 
letters,  written  on  the  passage  out  and  during 
the  inland  journey,  are  full  of  beautifully  simple 
and  graphic  descriptions  of  all  that  he  saw  and 
passed  through,  but  running  through  all  is  the 
index  of  his  thoughts  of  the  work  he  was  to  take 
up,  and  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  condition  of 
the  tribes  he  passed  through.  Nothing  escaped 
his  notice,  and  all  being  so  new,  he  wrote  fully 
and  in  an  interesting  manner  on  subjects  poli- 
tical, scientific  and  spiritual.  Reading  through 
the  pile  of  his  letters  before  me,  one  is  struck  by 
the  self-eflfacement  shown,  and  his  surprise  at 
certain  things  which  disproved  his  preconceived 
notions  of  men  and  things  as  they  are  in  Africa, 
but  yet  the  openness  of  mind  with  which  he 
listened  to  those  whose  wisdom  and  experience 
fitted  them  to  be  his  helpers.  Ardour,  humility, 
hopefulness  of  disposition,  and  consecration  to 
God  shone  out  in  his  life  from  the  very  be- 
ginning. 

Dr  Steele  reached  Bandawe  in  the  end  of  July 
and  settled  at  Njuyu  in  the  beginning  of  August. 
From  the  time  I  left  in  January  to  relieve  Dr 
Laws  at  Bandawe,  until  his  arrival,  the  station 
at  Njuyu  was  held  by  Mr  Stuart,  and  that  of 
Ekwendeni  by  Mr  and  Mrs  M^'Callum.      These 


262  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

lonely  workers,  fifteen  miles  apart,  among  a 
troublesome  people,  were  new  to  the  district. 
Mr  Stuart  had  but  a  few  months'  African  service, 
while  Mr  M^Callum  had  come  from  his  former 
work  at  Bandawe.  At  Njuyu  especially  the  lot 
of  Mr  Stuart  was  not  an  easy  one.  Surrounded 
by  the  discontented  Chipatulas,  whose  ambitious 
desire  for  power  and  wealth  through  the  aid  they 
expected  from  the  white  men  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Mission  had  not  been  realised,  he  was  sub- 
jected to  many  indignities  as  they  took  advan- 
tage of  his  novitiate.  At  Ekwendeni  Mr  and 
Mrs  M'^Callum  were  in  the  throes  of  instructing 
the  lazy  Ngoni  in  manual  labour  and  in  educa- 
tion, and  had  in  that  new  district  to  meet  and 
overcome  the  begging  habits,  proud  arrogance, 
and  dark  superstition  of  the  people.  Only 
those  who  have  had  experience  in  the  beginning 
of  such  work  can  know  what  it  means.  The 
arrival  of  Dr  Steele  cheered  the  solitary  and 
hard-pressed  workers. 

His  first  visit  to  Mombera  was  much  a  dread 
to  him,  as  every  account  he  had  received  of  how 
new-comers  were  treated  had  made  him  shrink 
for  some  weeks  from  facing  the  ordeal.  Then 
Mombera  was  in  one  of  his  bad  moods  and  the 
reception  was  not  very  cordial.  When  the  sub- 
ject of  the  school,  which  he  had  said  before  he 


IN  ME  MO  RUM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     263 

desired  at  his  liead  village,  was  mentioned,  Mom- 
bera  would  not  sanction  it.  His  first  visit  to 
Mtwaro  at  Ekwendeni  was  more  cordial  and 
pleasant,  and  Dr  Steele's  offer  of  help  in  the 
treatment  of  his  diseased  joint  drew  Mtwaro 
very  near  to  him,  and  compensated  for  the  rude- 
ness of  Mombera — a  rudeness  which  few  who 
saw  him  often  do  not  understand. 

As  they  had  been  some  months  without  a 
doctor,  the  arrival  of  Dr  Steele  was  hailed  with 
delight  by  the  people.  Medical  work  attaches  a 
people  more  quickly  than  any  other.  While 
they  could  not  understand  much  of  what  was 
taught,  and  often  did  not  realise  that  it  applied 
to  them  at  all,  all  who  received  help  in  distress, 
and  relief  from  pain  and  disease  understood  that, 
and  counted  the  Mission-doctor  their  friend. 
Very  soon  however  Dr  Steele  realised  that  what 
they  desired  most  was  wealth,  and  their  begging 
habits  were  a  continual  annoyance  to  him  in  his 
work.  Here  is  a  graphic  picture  of  a  common 
occurrence  in  the  course  of  a  visit  to  the  villages 
in  carrying  on  medical  mission  work.  He  says, 
"  The  first  place  I  stopped  at  was  Zigodo's  village. 
This  man  is  Mtwaro  s  head  councillor.  To  excite 
my  pity  he  appeared  quite  naked,  but  two  yards 
of  cloth  sent  him  away  rejoicing.  My  next  place 
of  call  was   Sunduswayo's  where  I  dressed   his 


264  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

motlier's  ulcer.  He  told  me  I  was  to  come  again 
soon  and  bring  him  cloth.  I  next  called  at 
Hloj  ana's.  In  conversation  with  him  about  a 
pain  in  his  shoulder  I  asked  if  I  might  bring 
more  medicine  for  it.  He  replied  that  I  was 
to  stop  with  him  next  time  I  passed  and  give 
him  a  piece  of  cloth.  Few  head-men  are  above 
begging." 

Eeflecting  on  his  work  and  surroundings  as  he 
wrote  to  a  friend,  he  drew  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
condition  of  the  people.  "  Up  here,  shut  off 
from  the  rest  of  the  world  by  the  eternal  hills, 
they  have  little  or  no  notion  of  what  is  going  on 
in  the  great  universe  outside.  The  white  men 
come  from  somewhere,  but  where,  they  cannot 
tell.  How  to  bring  home  to  the  natives  the 
Gospel  we  have  come  to  teach  is  the  problem 
requiring  much  earnest  thought,  and  above  all, 
heavenly  guidance.  Their  very  simplicity  of 
mind  makes  it  difficult,  but  this  condition  of 
mind  has  combined  with  it  the  vices  of  men, 
so  that  while  intellectually  they  are  children, 
morally  they  are  men,  for  one  sees  among  them 
all  the  vices  of  human  nature, — pride,  avarice, 
greed,  meanness,  dishonesty,  falsehood,  &c.  De- 
spite these,  however,  they  are  not  destitute  of 
good  parts." 

Dr  Steele  was  not  long  among  the  Ngoni  until 


IN  MEMORUM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     265 

he  discovered,  as  others  had  done,  that  they  have 
a  standard  of  manhood  all  their  own.  Until  a 
man  married  and  owned  cattle  he  was  considered 
to  be  but  a  child  and  had  no  interest  in  tribal 
affairs.  This  made  the  position  of  the  unmarried 
on  the  staff  very  liable  to  be  slighted,  and  shut 
doors  of  usefulness  against  them.  Dr  Steele  was 
considered,  like  Mr  Stuart,  to  be  a  mere  boy  and 
not  to  be  admitted  to  serious  conclave  alono;  with 
men.  He  recounts  that  "one  day  while  Mr 
Stuart  was  engaged  building  the  school  a  proud 
Ngoni  addressed  him  as  a  child,  contemptuously. 
'  Yes,'  he  replied,  '  I  am  a  child  as  you  suppose, 
but  can  your  children  build  houses  like  these  1 ' 
The  man  called  him  no  more  a  child  but  was 
very  respectful,  and  it  seemed  to  dawn  on  his 
mind  that  manhood  did  not  consist  in  the  pos- 
session of  wives  and  cattle  but  in  knowledge  and 
wisdom." 

As  I  can  testify,  the  arrogance  of  the  Ngoni 
was  at  times  hard  to  endure,  but  an  incident 
such  as  the  following  served  to  sweeten  life  in 
his  case  as  it  had  done  in  my  own.  Dr  Steele 
writes,  "About  four  weeks  ago  I  was  called  to 
one  of  the  chief's  villages  to  a  complicated  labour 
case.  All  went  well.  The  gratitude  of  the  people 
seemed  very  sincere.  The  women  came  round 
me  on  their  knees,  slowly  clapping  their  hands 


266  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  saying  in  a  tone  of  great  relief,  '  my  father,' 
a  term  of  great  respect.  One  woman  rolled  her- 
self on  the  ground  at  my  feet,  but  I  could  stand 
this  no  longer,  and  told  her  to  rise  up.  I  told 
them  all  sitting  round  that  God  sent  me  to  heal 
the  sick  and  tell  them  about  Him.  I  then 
doctored  some  twenty  eye-cases  and  returned 
home."  When  it  is  mentioned  that  such  women 
as  needed  assistance  in  maternity  were  accused 
of  foul  crimes  and  usually  consigned  to  the  bush 
to  die,  and  their  friends  taken  as  slaves  by  the 
husband,  the  gratitude  of  the  women  will  be 
known  to  have  been  sincere.  No  branch  of 
medical  science  has  been  more  fruitful  of  life- 
saving  and  of  good  to  the  helpless  than  that,  and 
all  medical  missionaries  have  found  it  so.  The 
glimpse  we  get  of  medical  mission  work  in  Dr 
Steele's  hands  explains  the  attachment  of  the 
people  to  him. 

A  time  of  great  anxiety  came  upon  Dr  Steele 
and  his  co-workers,  Mr  and  Mrs  M^Callum,  at 
Ekwendeni,  when  Mtwaro  the  chief,  who  was 
under  treatment,  died.  He  suffered  from  chronic 
disease  of  the  knee  joint,  which  I  had  been  called 
on  to  treat  a  year  before.  It  was  evident  even 
then  that  nothing  but  amputation  could  be  of  use 
in  saving  his  life,  but  as  he  did  not  submit,  pallia- 
tive treatment  was  adopted.      When  Dr  Steele 


IN  MEMORUM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     267 

arrived  he  was  warned  of  the  case,  and  advised 
not  to  adopt  any  active  treatment  until  he  be- 
came known  to  the  people  and  had  their  con- 
fidence, for,  on  account  of  their  superstition,  any 
untoward  result  would  be  blamed  against  the 
doctor,  so  the  people,  and  not  the  patient  only, 
had  to  be  considered.  They  could  not  realise  the 
seriousness  of  the  case  or  understand  the  treat- 
ment adopted,  and  might  be  incited  by  the 
native  doctors  to  rise  against  him,  and  so  the 
work  be  hindered.  Dr  Steele's  treatment  was 
only  palliative,  and  as  it  turned  out,  a  rapid 
extension  of  the  inflammation  caused  death  in 
a  few  weeks.  During  those  weeks,  when  the 
illness  of  the  chief  made  the  people  very  ex- 
cited, the  cry  went  forth  that  the  white  man's 
medicine  had  killed  the  chief.  Various  divining 
doctors  were  called,  the  poison  ordeal  was  gone 
through  with  dogs  and  fowls,  but  again  and 
again  the  verdict  was  in  favour  of  the  doctor. 
The  people  were,  however,  very  excited,  and  in 
the  event  of  death  it  seemed  as  if  trouble  would 
come  to  the  Mission  party.  Mr  and  Mrs  M^'Callum 
were  there  alone,  except  when  Dr  Steele  was  with 
them  in  connection  with  the  case,  and  the  occasion 
was  one  of  anxiety  such  as  they  only,  who  have 
witnessed  a  superstitious  people  driven  frantic  by 
some  event,  can  understand.     Mtwaro  died,  but 


268  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

while  he  was  conscious  he  declared  his  confidence 
in  the  white  men,  and  sought  to  quiet  the  people. 
For  a  time  all  work  was  stopped  in  the  district, 
but  the  people  quietened  down  and  the  work  was 
resumed  again,  the  deceased  chief's  widows  and 
children  coming  freely  to  the  services  and  school 
on  the  station.  In  those  days  the  medical 
man  had  to  contend  with  superstition,  and 
with  the  combination  of  divining  and  medi- 
cine men  who  witnessed  the  progress  of  the 
work  and  emancipation  of  the  people  from 
their  clutches,  and  were  therefore  too  often 
opposed  to  the  Mission. 

In  the  middle  of  1891,  Mr  Stuart,  the  teacher 
who  was  with  Dr  Steele  at  Njuyu,  was  transferred 
to  fill  the  breach  caused  by  the  invaliding  of  Rev. 
Dr  Henry  at  Livlezi  station  among  the  southern 
Ngoni.  In  Dr  Steele's  letters  at  that  time,  he 
writes  joyfully  of  the  extension  of  the  preaching 
work  into  new  districts ;  of  his  three  schools  and 
twenty  teachers,  and  of  the  services  and  Bible 
classes.  At  the  close  of  his  first  year  he  wrote 
thus :  "  In  the  course  of  another  week  I  will 
have  come  to  the  end  of  my  first  year.  It  has 
been  full  of  many  new  experiences,  and  I  must 
say  has  appeared  long.  I  am  beginning  now 
more  vividly  to  realise  that  this  is  now  my  home 
than  ever  I  did  before.     The  reason  is  that  until 


IN  ME  MORI  AM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     269 

one  gets  a  hold  of  the  language  you  feel  estranged, 
but  when  you  begin  to  understand  them  better 
and  speak  their  language,  the  feeling  of  separa- 
tion begins  to  pass  off,  and  one  feels,  as  it  were, 
one  with  them."  These  words  evidence  how 
truly  he  was  ripening  for  the  succeeding  four 
years  of  full,  patient  and  productive  service,  ere 
he  was  called  to  the  service  above. 

When  Mr  Stuart  left  for  Livlezi,  his  place  at 
Njuyu  was  taken  by  Mr  Scott  who  had  just  joined 
the  Mission.  In  consequence  of  the  change,  Dr 
Steele  had  all  the  work  of  the  station  laid  on  him 
for  a  time.  He  had  the  hours  of  every  day  well 
filled  up  by  medical,  evangelistic  and  educational 
work,  and  had  also,  as  so  many  of  all  classes  in 
Livingstonia  have  had  to  do,  to  lend  a  hand  in 
the  brick-field,  and  at  house  and  school  building. 
The  work  was  in  full  swing  when  an  event 
happened,  which  a  few  years  before  would  have 
probably  been  fraught  with  disaster  to  the  work. 
Mombera,  the  chief  of  Ngoniland,  died  suddenly. 
The  death  and  burial  are  described  so  graphically 
by  Dr  Steele  that  his  account  of  it  may  be  given 
here  as  affording  a  picture  of  African  customs  in 
such  circumstances. 

"Mombera  died  somewhat  suddenly.  I  saw 
him  the  Sabbath  before,  when  at  his  village  con- 
ducting a  service       He  has  been  chief  of  this 


2  70  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

section  of  the  Ngoni  for  many  years,  and  his 
death  has  therefore  caused  a  great  sensation 
throughout  the  country.  Poor  Mombera !  If 
he  had  been  iuclined  to  know  the  Gospel,  he 
has  had  good  opportunity  for  years,  but  he 
never  showed  any  interest  in  it,  and  died  as 
he  had  lived — a  heathen. 

"The  people  came  from  all  parts  to  take  part 
in  the  mourning  ceremonies.  He  died  in  Em- 
pikisweni  and  his  body  was  carried  to  his  own 
village,  Engaraweni,  where  he  was  buried.  We 
left  the  station  early  in  the  morning  and  arrived 
at  the  village  about  noon.  On  nearing  the 
village,  many  people  were  seen  coming  in  com- 
panies to  mourn.  The  men  all  carried  shields 
and  spears,  and  some  had  also  guns.  As  is  the 
custom,  the  people  had  removed  all  their  orna- 
ments, and  some  had  bands  of  grass  tied  round 
their  heads.  When  we  entered  the  village,  the 
men  who  were  with  me  stood  together,  and 
raising  their  shields  over  their  heads,  began  to 
utter  a  wild  continuous  cry,  '  Baba  be !  Baba 
be!'  i.e.  'My  father!  My  father!'  The  cry 
was  taken  up  by  each  new  company  and  con- 
tinued for  a  time  when  they  retired  to  make 
room  for  others.  After  this  we  went  to  the 
public  place  —  the  cattle  -  fold  —  which  was 
crowded  with  men.     There  we  waited  till  dark. 


IN  MEMORIAM:  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     271 

The  continual  wail  and  all  our  surroundings 
produced  a  strange  effect  on  us. 

"  When  they  had  consulted  as  to  the  grave 
they  set  to  work  to  dig  it.  At  this  stage  a 
sister  of  the  late  chief  appeared  at  the  grave 
and  began  to  mourn.  Suddenly  Mperembe, 
another  Ngoni  chief  and  brother  of  the 
deceased,  sprang  up  and  began  to  mourn.  He 
placed  his  hands  clasped  behind  his  head  and 
advanced  with  a  dancing  motion  to  the  grave. 
All  the  men  in  the  cattle-fold  did  the  same. 
This  went  on  till  nightfall  when  the  work  of 
digging  the  grave  was  suspended. 

"  Next  day  about  ten  o'clock  the  grave  was 
dug  and  preparations  were  made  for  the  inter- 
ment. All  the  morning,  however,  the  late 
chief's  wives  were  engaging  in  a  ceremonial. 
Some  of  them  carried  the  chiefs  shields  in 
front  of  them  and  approached  the  grave  mourn- 
ing loudly  and  retiring  again.  All  the  old 
women  took  a  prominent  place  in  the  cere- 
monies. Before  the  burial  the  cattle-fold  was 
cleared  of  all  except  married  men.  Just  before 
the  corpse  was  brought  in,  the  chief's  wives 
formed  a  strange  procession.  They  crawled  up 
to  the  grave  on  their  hands  and  knees  in  single 
file,  mourned  for  a  short  time,  and  then  retired. 
They  were  all   dressed  in   skins  and  had   their 


2  72  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

heads  covered  with  cloth  and  great  bunches  of 
feathers. 

"  Some  men  now  left  to  bring  in  the  corpse. 
They  went  towards  the  hut  with  their  hands 
clasped  behind  their  heads  and  wailing  loudly. 
They  returned  bearing  the  corpse,  which  was 
followed  by  a  large  number  of  women  carrying 
things  belonging  to  the  late  chief  to  be  put  into 
the  grave  with  him.  The  men  stood  in  circles 
round  the  grave  with  their  shields  high  above  their 
heads  and  wailing  piteously.  This  continued  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  they  gave  place 
to  the  numerous  companies  of  young  men  who  at 
this  point  came  in  to  mourn.  Company  after 
company  filed  in,  and  for  a  long  time  this  went 
on.  After  the  body  was  placed  in  the  grave 
the  chief's  pipes,  pillows,  etc.,  were  put  into  the 
grave.  One  grave  was  completely  filled  and 
another  had  to  be  dug  into  which  the  remainder 
of  the  chiefs  personal  belongings  were  put." 

The  furlough  of  Mr  M'Callum  in  1892  and  my 
return  to  be  at  Bandawe  necessitated  further 
changes  in  the  staff.  Mr  Stuart  relieved  Mr 
M^Callum  at  Ekwendeni ;  and  in  view  of  future 
developments  of  the  work,  Dr  Steele,  accom- 
panied by  the  late  Dr  Henry,  made  an  extended 
journey  round  the  country  so  as  to  find  out  in 
what  direction  our  developments  should  be  made. 


IN  MEMORIAM :  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     273 

The  work  at  the  various  stations  was  now  fully 
organised  in  open-air  and  school- services,  day- 
schools,  and  Bible-classes  for  men  and  women, 
and  its  effects  were  seen  in  the  changed  habits 
of  many  around  the  stations.  At  Njuyu  under 
Mr  Scott  a  great  advance  had  been  made  in 
school-work,  and  singing  had  been  greatly  im- 
proved by  the  introduction  of  a  harmonium. 
The  elderly  women's  class,  begun  by  Mrs 
Elmslie  years  before,  was  being  better  attended, 
and  the  time  spent  in  it  was  bearing  good 
fruit — the  women  not  only  being  eager  to  be 
taught  the  Word  more  systematically,  but 
evincing  a  willingness  to  be  taught  to  read 
and  write.  At  Ekwendeni,  not  only  had  the 
principal  people  of  the  district  been  reached, 
but  a  mighty  advance  had  been  made  through 
Mr  M'^Callum's  school,  in  that  master  and 
slave  had  been  brought  together  on  the  same 
level,  and  the  first  natives  on  the  staff  there 
belonged  to  both  classes. 

In  1892  Dr  Steele  had  the  joy  of  baptising  the 
first  Ngoni  woman,  who  was  the  fruit  of  the 
adult  women's  class  referred  to,  and  eight  men. 
The  church  roll  now  numbered  eleven  adults  and 
four  children.  Two  years  before,  the  first  con- 
verts were  baptised.  But  still  there  was  much 
ungodliness  around  the  stations,  and  gross  dark- 

s 


2  74  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONl 

ness.  The  dry  season  brought  together  great 
companies  of  people  to  drink  beer,  and  then, 
as  Dr  Steele  wrote,  war  was  a  subject  much 
talked  of,  and  several  bands  of  reckless  young 
men  went  out,  among  whom  were  some  who 
were  attending  school  and  Bible  class.  He 
wrote  at  this  time,  "But  some  people  from 
whom  I  expected  better  things  are  stil]  remain- 
ing very  superstitious,  and  are  inclined  to  say 
hard  things  about  us,  and  to  treat  badly  those 
who  believe  our  message.  Lately  one  of  our 
people  was  at  one  of  the  late  chief's  villages 
some  four  miles  from  here.  He  was  maltreated 
because  he  affirmed  that  the  dead  would  rise 
again.  One  man  got  so  exasperated  that  he 
rose  and  left  the  hut.  They  still  harbour  silly 
notions  about  us,  such  as  that  I  killed  Mombera, 
the  chief.  They  call  me  an  Umtakati,  i.e.  a 
witch,  a  villain  who  can  harm  people  by  be- 
witching them.  Many  of  the  people  are  still 
inclined  for  war,  and  this  along  with  their 
superstition  and  ignorance  makes  them  disin- 
clined to  receive  our  message,  and  they  become 
jealous  and  envious  of  those  who  have  believed 
and  are  perhaps  getting  in  advance  of  them. 
Some  speak  well  of  us  and  of  our  work,  and 
others  cast  reflections  on  them  for  doing  so, 
and  out  of  jealousy  and  spite  they  defame  us. 


IN  MEMORIAM :  REK  GEORGE  STEELE     i-j^ 

For  example,  the  second  wife  of  the  late  chief, 
of  Avhom  I  had  good  hope,  has  disappointed  me, 
and  because  the  third  wife  has  been  bravely 
defending  us  the  second  has  brought  a  charge 
against  her  of  having  killed  the  chief.  We 
must  have  patience  and  live  these  things 
down." 

In  1893  Mr  and  Mrs  M^Callum  returned  from 
Scotland,  and  Dr  Steele  was  enabled  to  open  a 
new  station  at  Hora  by  locating  them  there. 
This  is  the  district  of  Mzukuzuku,  a  famous 
general  in  the  old  Ngoni  army,  and  the  one 
where  the  great  massacre  of  Tumbuka  took 
place  about  1880.  For  the  second  time  Mr 
and  Mrs  M^Callum  had  to  begin  the  arduous 
task  of  introducing  the  Gospel  to  a  new  region, 
and  although  each  successive  year  saw  the 
whole  tribe  more  amenable  to  the  Gospel,  the 
work  was  trying  enough.  As  we  now  witness 
at  this  date,  the  pioneering  both  at  Ekwendeni 
and  at  Hora  was  successfully  accomplished,  and 
the  developments  now  visible  are  in  great  mea- 
sure due  to  the  work  of  these  two  missionaries 
at  the  commencement.  As  recorder  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  work  it  is  my  duty  and  pleasure 
to  state  that. 

There  were  no"w  three  stations  manned  by 
Europeans.       Comfortable    brick    houses    w^ere 


276  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

erected  at  each,  and,  as  the  country  is  healthier 
than  other  parts  of  Livingstonia,  the  work  was 
vigorously  pushed  forward.  In  1894  the  num- 
ber of  schools  had  increased  to  nine ;  special  in- 
struction was  being  given  to  over  thirty  native 
teachers  who  were  all  under  indenture  for  five 
years.  The  Bible  classes  increased  in  number 
and  attendance,  and  the  village  services  were 
being  conducted  by  Christian  natives  as  well  as 
by  Europeans.  While  this  new  district  at  Hora 
had  been  opened  to  the  work,  an  attempt  which 
was  made  to  get  into  that  of  Mperembe,  a  brother 
of  the  late  chief,  failed  as  it  did  on  a  former 
occasion.  But  Dr  Steele  and  his  colleagues  had 
learned  that  persistency  of  effort  in  districts 
open,  and  frequent  calls  upon  outside  parties, 
would  eventually  win  the  way  for  the  Gospel, 
and  the  whole  history  of  the  work  showed  that 
great  patience  was  necessary.  No  district  could 
be  taken  by  a  rush,  and  so  what  was  gained  was 
held  by  patient  and  persistent  effort. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  a  day's  work.  "  You 
will  rejoice  to  know  that  the  new  bell  is  now 
erected  and  doing  duty.  I  don't  spare  it.  Since 
it  was  erected  I  have  commenced  a  morning 
service.  It  is  rung  at  sunrise  and  we  all  turn 
into  school,  i.e.  Mr  Scott  and  myself  and  our 
eight  boys,  teachers,  workers,  and   the   general 


IN  MEMORIAM:  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     277 

public.     First  a  hymn  is  sung;  then  I  tell  the 
day  of  the  month  and  the  text  for  the  day  which 
all   repeat    after    me    several    times.       Selected 
portions  of  Scripture  are  then  read  and  all  join 
in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  after  which  each  goes  to 
his  work.       Again  at   half-past   seven   the  bell 
is  rung  for  the  school  and  our  breakfast.     School 
commences  at  eight,  and  this  junior   school  is 
conducted  entirely  by  natives  under  Mr  Scott's 
superintendence.      The  junior  school  is  over  at 
half-past   nine,    and   the   senior   school   for  the 
teachers   which,   till    twelve    o'clock,   Mr    Scott 
and  I  conduct,  begins.      We  rest  till  two,  and 
on  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Thursday,  I  have  my 
women's  school  from  two  till  four ;  on  Wednes- 
day and  Friday  the   catechumens,   and  at  five 
o'clock  all  public  work  is  over  for  the  day.     On 
Wednesday  evenings  there  is  a  prayer  meeting." 
The   same    order   practically  obtained    at    Hora 
and  Ekwendeni,  special  attention  being  paid  to 
teaching  the  teachers,  not  only  for  school-work 
but  with  a  view  to  qualify  them  also  to  become 
evangelists,  such  work  being  put  into  their  hands 
whenever    their    consistency   of    character    and 
attainments   made   that   advisable.     In  the  be- 
ginning  of   1894  there  were    760    children   at- 
tending the  schools  in  the  three  districts. 
In  1894,  as  the  staff  had  been  reinforced  by  the 


278  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

arrival  of  the  Rev.  Messrs  Dewar  and  MacAlpine, 
and  the  settlement  of  the  latter  at  Bandawe,  I 
was  free  to  return  to  my  former  field  in  Ngoni- 
land.  My  place,  as  indicated,  had  been  ably 
filled  by  Dr  Steele,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
whole  district.  At  my  request  he  continued  to 
occupy  my  former  station  and  to  act  as  mission- 
ary-iu-charge  of  the  district  until,  a  year  thence, 
he  should  leave  for  home.  I  settled  at  Ekwen- 
deni  where  the  first  temporary  house  built  by 
Mr  M^Callum  had  been  replaced  by  a  substantial 
brick  building  erected  by  Messrs  Stuart  and 
Murray,  and  relieved  Mr  Stuart  who  left  on 
furlough  after  five  years  splendid  service.  We 
were  then  in  still  closer  contact  through  our 
work  in  Ngoniland,  and  had  frequent  intercourse 
together.  He  again  had  the  joy  of  receiving 
seven  more  adults  into  the  Church  by  baptism  at 
Njuyu.  It  was  the  station  where  the  work  had 
been  carried  on  for  the  longest  period,  and  the 
fresh  baptisms  were  an  occasion  of  interest  far 
beyond,  and  reacted  on  the  other  stations,  so  that 
early  in  1895  we  find  the  Church  roll  increased 
to  59  by  further  baptisms  at  Njuyu  and  Ekwen- 
deni,  while  at  Hora,  the  youngest  of  our  stations, 
several  had  already  made  a  profession  of  faith 
and  been  admitted  as  catechumens. 

On  my  settlement  at  Ekwendeni  we  originated 


IN  MEMORIAM:  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     279 

quarterly  conferences  of  the  workers,  meeting  at 
the  different  stations  in  rotation.  These  were 
occasions  not  only  of  great  good  to  the  members, 
but  the  plans  of  work,  reports  of  progress,  and 
discussion  of  difficulties,  engaging  our  meetings, 
bound  us  very  closely  together,  and  strengthened 
our  united  efforts  among  the  heathen.  By  hav- 
ing with  us  Christian  natives,  the  Church  members 
in  the  different  districts  were  brought  into  closer 
contact,  and  the  work  made  to  appear  one,  and 
the  Church  one.  The  last  year  of  Dr  Steele's 
service  was  very  full  of  work,  and  the  prospects 
all  round  were  very  bright.  A  new  development 
had  taken  place  in  the  end  of  1894  by  the  arrival 
of  Miss  Stewart,  the  first  missionary  for  the 
women,  and  she  began  work  at  Ekwendeni.  At 
Njuyu  the  special  work  of  my  wife  when  there 
had  been  in  part  continued  by  Mr  Stuart  and  Dr 
Steele.  At  Ekwendeni  and  then  at  Hora  Mrs 
M'^Callum's  work  had  made  progress  among  the 
women,  and  produced  good  results ;  and  now  at 
Ekwendeni  my  wife's  efforts  were  supplemented 
by  Miss  Stewart,  and  she  struck  out  among  the 
wives  of  catechumens  and  converts  who  were  not 
reached  by  the  ordinary  schools.  Thus  the  work 
was  going  on  when  the  last  months  of  Dr  Steele's 
all  too  brief  service  had  come. 

In  April  he  left  to  attend  a  Council  meeting  at 


28o  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

the  newly-opened  Livingstonia  Training  Institu- 
tion. He  had  food  with  him  for  five  days,  but 
as  it  was  the  rainy  season  and  as  his  guides  led 
him  by  a  new  and  untried  path  over  rugged 
mountains,  they  were  detained,  and  the  journey 
lasted  nine  days.  He  arrived  at  the  Institution 
in  an  exhausted  state,  and  we  believe  that  in  this 
way  his  strength  was  undermined,  and  when  the 
last  fever  came  he  was  unable  to  cast  off  its 
effects. 

He  returned  to  Njuyu,  and  as  his  furlough  was 
due,  prepared  to  leave  for  home.  His  last  three 
Sabbaths  were  spent  at  the  three  stations,  when 
he  baptised  forty-one  adults  and  several  children, 
the  results  of  his  own  and  his  colleagues'  work. 
He  had  sent  off  his  boxes  to  the  Lake  and  was  to 
follow  them  himself  in  a  day  or  two,  but  fever 
struck  him  down,  and  in  five  days,  through  utter 
exhaustion,  he  fell  asleep,  at  the  age  of  34,  on 
26th  June  1895.  His  funeral  was  attended  by 
the  whole  of  the  Ekwendeni  population,  as  well 
as  many  who  had  come  from  Njuyu  and  Hora. 
At  the  open  grave  a  service  was  conducted. 
Amid  the  great  sorrow  of  his  colleagues — four  of 
whom  were  present — and  the  great  gathering  of 
natives,  his  remains  were  committed  to  the  dust 
among  the  shady  trees  within  sound  of  the  music 
of  the  Lunyanga  river.     There  was  widespread 


IN  MEMORIAM:  REV.  GEORGE  STEELE     281 

gloom  in  Ngoniland.  I  here  append  the  tribute 
I  wrote  in  our  half-yearly  report  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  and  thus  close  an  all  too  imperfect 
record  of  a  noble  life  and  a  noble  work. 

"  No  one  was  more  beloved  in  our  Livingstonia 
circle.  His  cheery,  hopeful  nature  surrounded  one 
with  an  atmosphere  of  attraction  to  him,  and  the 
deep  springs  of  his  disposition  were  easily  touched 
by  distress,  whether  among  whites  or  blacks. 

"  His  five  years'  work  in  Ngoniland  forms  an 
interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  Mission. 
He  arrived  just  as  the  cloud  which  long  huug 
over  the  work  was  dissipated,  and  the  country 
thrown  open  to  the  Gospel,  and  the  first  fruits 
had  been  gathered.  Speedily  gaining  a  know- 
ledge of  the  speech  and  habits  of  the  people,  he 
set  to  work,  and  by  close  attention  to  schools, 
which  were  called  for  by  the  desire  for  in- 
struction, he  saw  the  agency  greatly  extended 
and  made  eminently  successful  as  a  nursery  for 
the  Church. 

"As  an  ordained  missionary  he  gave  himself 
heartily  to  the  work  of  strengthening  and  in- 
structing the  Church  members,  and  of  gathering 
in  the  fruits  of  former  sowing.  As  an  evangelist 
he  was  never  happier  than  when  preaching  the 
old  Gospe],  and  going  from  village  to  village 
with   the    good    news.       His   medical   work    he 


282  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

always  looked  upon  as  a  valuable  means  of 
bringing  the  people  to  God,  and  so,  while  main- 
taining a  healthy  professional  interest  in  his 
"  cases,"  he  worked  for  the  main  end  in  all  he 
did,  and  gave  his  best  to  the  work.  He  was 
welcomed  everywhere,  and  there  are  few  corners 
in  Ngoniland  where  his  voice  has  not  been  heard 
preaching  the  Gospel,  and  his  gentle  hand  laid 
on  the  suffering  to  give  health  and  peace. 

"  Besides  having  acquired  the  Ngoni  language 
he  had  made  considerable  additions  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  Tumbuka  tongue  by  compiling 
a  dictionary. 

"  Preparing  to  visit  Australia  and  Scotland,  but 
taken  to  the  Father's  House  !  We  cannot  under- 
stand it  I  But  still,  as  when  four  of  his  colleagues 
stood  by  the  bedside  and  witnessed  his  triumph, 
we  preserve  the  feelings  which  filled  our  souls 
and  give  God  thanks  for  what  He  enabled  him 
to  be  and  to  do  in  the  work  in  Ngoniland." 


CHAPTER   XIII 

RE-ARRANGEMENT   OF    STATIONS    AND   GROWTH     OF 
THE    WORK 

ON  the  death  of  Dr  Steele  several  changes 
which  had  been  contemplated  for  some 
time,  were  carried  out  in  the  arrangement  of  our 
agencies  in  Ngoniland.  We  were  under  the 
necessity  of  meeting  a  reduction  of  the  European 
staff.  From  the  first  we  had  proceeded  upon 
the  plan  of  making  use  of  the  natives  themselves 
as  far  as  their  character  and  attainments  would 
allow,  and  had  placed  several  of  the  schools  in 
villages  around  the  chief  stations  under  them. 
We  thus  prepared  the  way  for  increasing  the 
responsibilities  of  such  agents.  Hitherto  they 
had  been  under  almost  daily  supervision  of  a 
European,  but  now  we  ventured  upon  placing 
districts  instead  of  schools  under  their  charge 
and  withdrawing  the  Europeans.  The  experiment 
was  tried  with  our  best  teacher- evangelists,  and, 
as  the  sequel  will  show,  was  attended  with  success 

in  all  departments  of  work,  while,  as  the  outcome 

283 


284  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

of  it,  we  were  able  even  to  add  to  the  number  of 
our  scbools. 

The  Training  Institution,  under  Dr  Laws  and 
Mr  James  Henderson,  was  opened  to  receive 
pupils  in  the  end  of  1895.  We  at  once  selected 
some  from  the  districts  under  natives  and  sent 
them  there  for  training,  leaving  only  those  who 
could  be  satisfactorily  attended  to  by  the  native 
teachers,  and  who  were  required  in  the  work 
of  the  district.  Without  the  opening  of  the 
Institution  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  us 
to  have  carried  on  our  stations  without  the  usual 
complement  of  Europeans. 

Miss  Stewart,  who  had  come  out  as  first  female 
teacher  for  the  Institution,  and  had  been  tem- 
porarily located  at  Ekwendeni  for  a  year,  was 
at  that  time  withdrawn  to  the  Institution.  She 
successfully  superintended  the  girls'  schools 
during  her  residence.  On  leaving  for  her  new 
work  several  of  the  more  advanced  girls  went 
with  her  to  complete  their  training ;  others 
who  were  not  chosen  to  go  to  the  Institution 
wept  bitterly  when  Miss  Stewart  left.  The  work 
among  the  women  at  Ekwendeni  was  again  left 
in  my  wife's  hands.  The  requirements  of  the 
younger  girls  were  partly  met  in  the  junior  and 
senior  schools,  and  the  older  womec  and  girls 
who  could  not  attend  school  were  taken  up  by 


RE-ARRj4NGEMENT  of  stations         285 

her,  as  also  the  school  girls  for  sewing.  She  also 
gave  additional  instruction  to  those  women  who 
were  coming  forward  as  candidates  for  baptism. 
At  Hora  station  similar  work  was  making  good 
progress  under  Mrs  M°Callum  who  had  large 
classes  composed  of  women  of  all  the  social  grades. 

The  most  important  change  was  made  in  the 
staffing  of  Njuyu  station.  It  had  always  been 
worked  by  two  Europeans,  and  being  the  oldest 
station,  and  the  arena  of  all  the  old  battles,  the 
work  there  was  known  to  have  taken  firm  root, 
and  was  expected  to  prove  a  suitable  sphere  for 
our  experiment.  Mr  Stuart,  after  returning 
from  Scotland,  was  resident  there  for  a  few 
months,  and  when  Mr  Scott,  the  teacher  at 
Ekwendeni,  left  the  service  of  the  Mission  to 
pursue  his  studies  in  Scotland,  he  was  withdrawn 
to  Ekwendeni.  Mawalera  Tembo  was  installed 
at  Njuyu  to  carry  on  the  work  of  that  district. 

Mawalera  Tembo  has  been  a  faithful  worker 
for  many  years.  He  was  one  of  those  who  came 
to  our  house  at  Njuyu  under  cover  of  night  to 
be  taught,  when  we  were  in  the  early  struggles 
of  the  work,  as  has  been  already  referred  to. 
He  and  his  brother  Makara  were  the  first  to  be 
baptised  in  1890.  His  father  was  a  witch-doctor, 
and  Mawalera  in  early  years  had  to  attend  him 
in  the   ceremonies  of  his  practice,  and  become 


286  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

"  art  and  part,"  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
in  a  practice  of  deceit.  He  is  possessed  of  an 
acute  mind,  and  has  always  been  observant  and 
thoughtful.  He  is  well  versed  in  native  lore, 
and  when  a  little  boy  herding  the  goats  in  the 
Lunyangwa  valley  witnessed  the  advent  of  Dr 
Laws  and  Mr  Stuart,  and  the  slaughter  of 
natives  conducted  about  that  time  by  the 
Chipatulas.  He  carries  a  peculiarly  happy 
countenance,  and  his  merry  laugh  makes  him 
a  favourite  with  all  classes.  From  the  first  his 
profession  of  Christianity  has  been  frank  and 
powerful.  Those  who  know  him  understand 
how,  in  private  discussion  with  the  heathen,  and 
by  personal  testimony  always  given  humbly  and 
with  respect  for  his  seniors,  his  influence  has  been 
wide  and  permanently  good. 

Elangeni  station  has  always  been  under  a 
native.  Mawalera  s  brother,  Makara,  was  placed 
there  by  Dr  Steele  a  year  before  he  died.  It 
also  was  an  experiment  and  justified  itself.  The 
chief  of  the  district,  Maurau,  is  a  brother  of  the 
late  Mombera,  and  Avhen  the  school  was  opened 
in  his  village  Makara  was  sent  there  temporarily. 
So  great,  however,  was  his  influence,  that  Maurau 
requested  that  Makara  should  be  sent  to  reside 
there  permanently.  Ground  was  given  for  house 
and  gardens  for  the  teacher,    and   Makara   re- 


RE- ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS  287 

moved  his  family  and  took  up  his  residence 
under  Maurau,  where  he  has  conducted  a  most 
successful  educational  work,  and  where  his  teach- 
ing of  the  Word  has  been  blessed  to  the  conver- 
sion of  many.  He  was  the  means  of  breaking 
the  war-spirit  in  that  district,  and  one  of  the  first 
converts  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  chief,  who 
before  was  a  notoriously  passionate  and  cruel 
man,  and  ruled  his  slaves  with  an  iron  hand. 
His  first  act  was  to  give  his  slaves  their  freedom, 
and  to  pay  them  for  the  work  they  did  on  his 
house  and  in  his  gardens.  Nawambi,  the 
ferocious  war-dancer  who  is  referred  to  in  the 
chapter  on  William  Koyi,  became  a  new  man, 
although  not  a  Christian,  under  Makara's  in- 
fluence, and  a  school  has  been  carried  on  in  his 
district  also  by  Makara. 

Hora  station,  as  has  been  stated  in  a  former 
chapter,  was  opened  by  Mr  and  Mrs  M^Callum, 
and  on  their  being  transferred  to  Mwenzo  station, 
the  work  there  was  also  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
native  teacher-evangelist  who  had  been  with  Mr 
M^Callum  both  at  Ekwendeni  and  Hora.  Thus, 
within  a  short  space,  we  had  given  up  two 
European  workers  in  Ngoniland  and  developed 
native  agency  in  the  manner  shown.  This  we 
look  upon  as  a  real  advance,  proving  both  the 
permanence   of    the    work   among   the   natives. 


288  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  the  possibility  of  speedily  evangelising  the 
country  by  means  of  native  agents.  Africa 
must  be  evangelised  by  the  African,  and  al- 
though our  native  helpers  are  only  moderately 
equipped,  their  work  and  influence  serve  to  show 
that  more  fully  trained  agents  obtained  through 
the  Training  Institution,  we  may  hope  for  greater 
results  than  we  now  see. 

In  former  days  the  Ngoni  were  the  troublers 
of  their  mission  stations,  and  it  is  worth  noticing 
in  connection  with  the  transfer  of  Mr  M^Callum 
to  Mwenzo,  how  the  Ngoni  in  their  new  character 
as  peaceful  worshippers  of  God  were  able  to 
render  assistance  to  a  far  -  distant  mission. 
Mwenzo  station  has  lately  been  begun  by  Rev. 
Alexander  Dewar.  Houses  had  to  be  erected 
and  the  station  laid  out,  but  the  natives  of  the 
district  were  not  eager  to  help  in  such  work, 
even  although  the  presence  of  the  Mission  was 
to  be  for  their  protection  and  benefit.  They 
belong  to  the  Nyamwanga  tribe  which  was 
formerly  harassed  by  the  Ngoni,  many  members 
of  the  tribe  having  been  carried  captive  to 
Ngoniland.  The  advent  of  Mr  and  Mrs  M^Callum 
with  a  band  of  loyal  Ngoni,  some  of  whom  were 
Church  members  and  catechumens,  was  most 
opportune.  The  Ngoni  were  known  to  the 
Mwenzo  people  only  as  cruel  warriors,  constantly 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS  289 

raiding  their  neighbours,  but  now  they  Scaw  them 
in  their  midst  with  the  implements  of  peaceful 
labour  in  their  hands,  and  the  Word  of  God  in 
their  hearts,  and  on  their  tongues.  They  aided 
in  the  work  which  the  Mwenzo  people  declined 
to  do,  and  at  the  same  time  by  life  and  word, 
proclaimed  the  reason  of  the  change  in  their 
manner  of  life.  The  effect  of  this  has  been  very 
great  and  a  valuable  object-lesson  in  that  new 
district,  saving  years  of  toil  before  the  people 
could  understand  fully  the  meaning  or  fruits  of 
the  Gospel.  Mr  M^Callum  continued  his  teach- 
ing, and  had  the  joy  of  seeing  several  of  those 
who  had  gone  with  him  admitted  into  the  visible 
church  by  baptism,  some  time  after  he  settled 
there.  Thus  the  trial  of  having,  for  the  third 
time,  to  relinquish  an  organized  station  and 
submit  to  the  hardships  and  difficulties  of  pioneer 
work,  was  in  some  measure  rewarded. 

For  several  months  in  1896  we  were  in  con- 
siderable anxiety  in  connection  with  a  threatened 
collision  between  the  British  Commissioner  and 
the  Ngoni.  As  recorded,  Mombera,  the  paramount 
chief,  had  died,  and  for  some  years  the  tribe  was 
ruled  in  sections  by  the  head-men  or  sub-chiefs. 
The  old  desire  of  Ng'onomo  to  increase  his  power 
and  attain  to  the  chieftainship  was  revived.  In 
his  district,  and  that  of  Mperembe,  we  had  made 

T 


290  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

frequent  efforts  to  be  allowed  to  begin  work  but 
without  success.  We  were  hopeful  that  in  all 
the  other  districts  the  influence  of  the  Gospel 
was  such  that  war  was  for  ever  at  an  end,  and 
now  our  hopes  were  to  be  tested  by  months  of 
turmoil  and  excitement.  The  Mission  had  been 
the  only  outside  influence  acting  in  Ngoniland, 
and  no  Government  agent  had  visited  the  Ngoni 
ofiicially  since  the  British  Consul  saw  Mombera 
in  1885  when  friendly  greetings  were  exchanged. 
Over  all  the  surrounding  tribes  in  the  Protector- 
ate, the  Government  had  exercised  its  jurisdiction, 
and  as  Mperembe  and  Ng'onomo  had  not  given 
up  war  and  raiding,  they  spread  the  report  that 
the  Ngoni  were  being  left  alone  because  the 
Government  was  not  strong  enough  to  meddle 
with  them.  In  this  way  they  strove  to  revive 
the  old  war-spirit  throughout  the  country,  and 
of  course  our  work,  and  especially  our  native 
helpers,  came  in  for  adverse  criticism.  The 
Evangelists  in  charge  of  districts  had  much  to 
bear,  but  the  Christians  rallied  to  their  support, 
and  by  calm  and  judicious  behaviour  they 
quieted  many  a  turmoil  and  saved  their  work. 

When  the  country  was  in  that  state,  an  event 
occurred  which  threatened  the  peace  with  the 
British  Administration  and  gave  us  much  trouble. 
The  district  of  Kasungu,  lying  to  the  south  of 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS  291 

Ngoniland,  had  been  the  scene  of  a  conflict  be- 
tween the  Commissioner's  forces  and  the  natives 
there.  Chibisa,  the  chief,  made  his  escape  when 
his  town  was  taken,  and  came  to  Ng'onomo  as 
a  refugee.  As  soon  as  we  knew  it  we  tried  to 
persuade  Ng'onomo  to  drive  him  away,  lest 
trouble  should  come  upon  himself.  Chibisa 
pretended  to  have  a  considerable  army  at  his 
command,  and  tried  to  incite  Ng'onomo  and 
Mperembe  to  join  him  in  an  attack  upon  the 
British  at  Kasungu,  where  the  latter  had  estab- 
lished a  fort.  Mr  Swann,  the  Government  agent 
at  Kotakota,  instead  of  pursuing  Chibisa  with 
an  armed  force,  very  judiciously  sent  policemen 
with  a  letter  to  us  requesting  Ng'onomo  to  hand 
over  Chibisa  to  them.  Ng'onomo  refused.  Mr 
Swann's  intimate  knowledge  of  African  natives 
made  him  alive  to  the  danger  from  the  native 
police,  who  have  too  often  overridden  their 
commissions  and  become  breakers  rather  than 
guardians  of  the  peace,  and  the  delicate  business 
he  had  in  hand  with  such  a  man  as  Ng'onomo. 
He  had  no  desire  to  induce  a  rupture  with 
Ng'onomo,  and  wrote  :  "  The  police  have  orders 
to  obey  the  missionaries,  and  to  come  back  if 
the  chiefs  allow  Chibisa  to  escape  or  refuse  to 
arrest  him.  They  are  in  no  case  to  do  anything 
but  visit  the  chiefs,  take  the  man  from  them, 


292  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONl 

and  return."  Chibisa  subsequently,  in  alarm, 
fled  to  Mpezeni,  another  Ngoni  chief  (mentioned 
in  the  first  chapter),  living  nine  or  ten  days' 
distant  to  the  south-west.  As  Mr  Swann's  letter 
was  addressed  to  the  Ngoni  chiefs  and  required 
their  answer,  we  convened  meetings  in  different 
districts  to  discuss  the  situation.  We  pointed 
out  to  them  that  unless  they  made  their  position 
clear,  they  might  all  be  involved  in  trouble  with 
the  Commissioner.  All,  save  Mperembe,  from 
the  first  denounced  Ng'onomo  for  receiving 
Chibisa,  and  frequently  requested  us  to  head 
a  war-party  to  go  and  compel  him  to  deliver 
him  up.  The  result  of  our  meetings  was,  that 
the  chiefs  wrote  to  the  Commissioner  saying 
that  since  Mombera  died  there  had  been  no 
paramount  chief,  and  each  had  been  simply 
ruling  his  own  district  as  before,  and  could  not 
be  held  responsible  for  Ng'onomo's  conduct,  as 
he  was  not  under  either  of  them,  and  they  did 
not  sympathise  with  his  action,  but  desired  to 
live  in  peace  with  the  British.  Even  Mperembe 
began  to  see  the  inadvisability  of  continuing  in 
the  compact  with  Ng'onomo,  and  he  also  sent 
a  letter  to  the  Commissioner. 

After  Chibisa's  flight  messengers  came  from 
Mpezeni  calling  the  Ngoni  to  rise  with  him 
and  Chibisa  against  the  British.     Ng'onomo  was 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS  293 

the  only  cbief  who  could  be  found  to  favour 
the  exploit.  Many  old  men  had  been  eager  to 
accept  the  invitation,  but  at  the  meetings  held 
to  discuss  the  matter,  the  young  men,  and  those 
who  had  been  the  flower  of  the  armies,  rose  as 
one  man  against  the  proposal  to  engage  in  war. 
Several  hundreds  were  assembled,  some  carrying 
arms,  but  the  result  of  the  meeting  was  the 
entire  defeat  of  the  advocates  of  war.  The 
young  men  spoke  calmly  and  forcibly,  with 
every  respect  shown  to  their  seniors,  but  they 
were  firm  in  their  position.  The  young  chief 
of  Elangeni  and  his  cousin  from  Ekwendeni 
recalled  how  the  Gospel  had  come  to  them, 
and  how  the  chiefs  and  head-men  had  for  long 
hindered  the  work,  until  in  this  matter  they  as 
a  tribe  were  left  far  behind  other  tribes.  The 
age  of  war,  they  declared,  must  now  be  con- 
sidered as  dead.  They  said  they  had  no  desire 
to  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  their  seniors,  but 
they  had  apprehended  a  more  excellent  way  and 
were  to  stand  firm  in  it,  and  refuse  to  take  the 
spear  again.  It  was  thus  demonstrated  to  the 
old  men  that  their  voice  was  no  longer  a  power 
in  the  tribe.  As  we  witnessed  their  discomfiture, 
we  remembered  the  time  when  some  of  the 
notables  there  had  declared  that  if  we  got  liberty 
to  preach  and  teach  in  the  tribe,  we  would  steal 


294  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

the  hearts  of  their  people.  The  result  they  had 
feared  they  now  witnessed.  Years  before  this 
occurred,  another  similar  incident  was  witnessed 
at  Ekwendeni  by  Mr  Stuart.  On  a  Sunday  a 
gathering  of  men  was  convened  in  the  chief's 
village  to  plan  a  raid  on  a  neighbouring  tribe. 
When  the  hour  for  service  came  very  few  people 
turned  out.  The  teachers  went  to  the  village  and 
rang  the  bell.  All  the  young  men  who  had  been 
summoned  to  hear  the  plans  for  war,  rose  up  and 
left  in  a  body  to  attend  the  service.  The  old 
men  were  left  alone,  and  the  war  proposals  fell  to 
the  ground  in  consequence. 

When  the  excitement  of  the  foregoing  events 
died  away,  there  was  an  increase  of  interest  in 
our  work.  The  teachers  who  had  been  persecuted 
were  reinstated  in  public  favour,  and  except  for 
Ng'onomo  we  were  on  friendly  terms  with  all 
sections  of  the  tribe,  as  we  now  had  had  more 
cordial  communications  with  Mperembe.  The 
popularity  of  our  work  increased,  and  the  services 
were  more  largely  attended,  while  schools  were  de- 
sired in  places  where  we  had  none.  The  Chris- 
tian community  was  consolidated  by  means  of  the 
trial,  and  their  influence  deepened  and  extended. 

In  April  1896  Sir  Harry  Johnston,  the  Com- 
missioner for  British  Central  Africa,  wrote  to  us 
as  follows  :  "  You  will  observe  that  in  the  new 


RE- ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         295 

Eegulations  extending  the  Hut  Tax  to  all  parts 
of  the  Protectorate,  I  have  exempted  only  one 
district,  viz.,  that  portion  of  the  West  Nyasa 
District  which  is  occupied  by  the  Northern  Ngoni. 
My  reasons  for  doing  so  are  these : — Hitherto 
the  Ngoni  chiefs  have  shown  themselves  capable 
of  managing  the  affairs  of  their  own  country 
without  compelling  the  interference  of  the  Ad- 
ministration of  the  Protectorate.  They  have 
maintained  a  friendly  attitude  towards  the 
English  and  have  allowed  us  to  travel  and 
settle  unhindered  in  and  through  their  country. 
As  long,  therefore,  as  the  Northern  Ngoni 
continue  this  line  of  conduct  and  give  us  no 
cause  for  interference  in  their  internal  affairs, 
so  long,  I  trust,  they  may  remain  exempt  from 
taxation  as  they  will  put  us  to  no  expense." 
The  Ngoni  remain  to  this  day  the  only  tribe 
not  under  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  the  British 
Government.  They  are,  however,  no  less  helpful 
than  others  in  the  great  task  of  the  redemp- 
tion of  Africa,  which  is  now  so  successfully 
guided  by  the  Administration  of  the  Pro- 
tectorate as  the  temporal  head.  Apart  from 
labour  given  at  mission  stations,  many  hundreds 
of  men  go  every  year  to  the  coffee  plantations  of 
the  Shire  Highlands,  and  to  the  trading  corpora- 
tions at  work  in  various  parts  of  the   country, 


296  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

where  they  prove  steady  and  successful  labourers, 
without  whom,  and  others,  the  commercial  in- 
terests could  not  prosper.  But  let  us  not  forget 
that  all  has  come  about  through  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

How  deeply  the  Christian  element  has  become 
fixed  in  the  tribe  was  shown  at  the  placing  of  a 
paramount  chief  in  room  of  the  late  Mombera  in 
1897.  When  the  Ngoni  found  themselves  face 
to  face  with  the  British  Administration,  and 
realised  the  need  for  a  chief,  they  proceeded  to 
elect  one.  To  this  ceremony  all  sections  of  the 
tribe  came.  Mperembe,  because  he  himself  de- 
sired the  chieftainship,  had  delayed  the  event, 
but  he  now  took  an  active  part  in  furthering  the 
appointment  of  Mbalekelwa  the  eldest  son  of 
Mombera.  He  sent  for  Mawalera  Tembo  at 
Njuyu,  and  desired  him  to  remain  throughout 
the  ceremony,  as  they  did  not  wish  to  do  any- 
thing wrong.  It  might  be  said  that  our  teacher- 
evangelist  was  the  most  important  individual 
there,  as  he  was  consulted  on  every  point.  He 
turned  the  occasion  to  good  account  by  con- 
ducting religious  worship,  and  subsequently 
addressing  the  assembly  on  the  foundation  of 
good  citizenship  and  good  government,  charging 
the  chief  to  rule  his  people  by  the  Word  of  God, 
and  for  ever  sheath  the  sword  of  his  fathers. 


RE- ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         297 

But  the  occasion  was  not  to  pass  without  an 
attempt  being  made  by  Ng'onomo  to  raise  the 
war  spirit.  By  violent  speeches  and  war-dances 
he  called  them  to  observe  the  customary  duty  in 
placing  a  new  chief,  viz.,  to  send  out  an  army 
"  to  wash  their  spears  in  blood."  Mawalera  and 
the  other  teachers  were  assaulted  with  oppro- 
brious names.  They  stood  their  ground  and 
were  supported  by  most  of  those  assembled,  and 
eventually  the  ceremonies  ended  quietly  and 
happily.  Mperembe,  in  the  dim  light  of  his  new 
thoughts  of  the  Gospel,  offered  a  sacrifice  to  Mom- 
bera's  spirit,  praying  him  to  remember  the  mission- 
aries when  they  taught  God's  Word  to  the  people ! 
It  was  a  time  of  great  rejoicing,  and  one  of  the 
first  acts  of  the  chief  was  to  signalize  his  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  by  requesting  that  schools  be 
established  in  his  villages,  and  he  himself  desired 
to  become  a  pupil  of  the  teacher  who  was  sent. 
At  the  same  time  a  sub-chief  in  the  Ekwendeni 
district  had  to  be  appointed  in  room  of  the  late 
Mtwaro,  who  died  some  years  before  Mombera 
his  brother.  The  reason  for  delay  in  this  case 
was  the  confirmed  objection  to  the  son  of 
Mtwaro,  as  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  Mission 
and  a  Church  member.  But  God,  who  worked 
in  all  that  was  taking  place,  gave  us  the  joy 
of  seeing   the   people,   of  their  own   free    will, 


298  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

choose  and  appoint  Amon  Jere,  not  only  a 
Church  member  and  teacher,  but  an  ordained 
elder  in  the  Church,  to  be  his  father's  successor. 
At  the  same  time  Yohane  Jere,  the  elder  brother 
of  Amon,  was  elected  to  the  important  oflSce  of 
"  Father  or  adviser  of  the  chiefs,"  so  that  while 
we  never  interfered  with  their  tribal  affairs,  or  put 
forward  any  of  our  pupils  to  positions  of  honour, 
our  work  was  recognised  in  these  important  events. 
Just  before  our  departure  on  furlough  in 
1887,  we  welcomed  as  colleague  the  Rev. 
Donald  Fraser,  widely  known  in  connection  with 
the  Student  Volunteer  Missionary  Movement. 
His  introduction  to  the  work  was  at  a  time 
when  it  was  at  the  height  of  the  flood.  The 
schools  had  been  successful,  the  teacher-evangel- 
ists had  been  active  in  diffusing  scriptural 
knowledge,  and  we  had  come  to  a  reaping  time. 
At  Ekwendeni,  where  the  Europeans  were 
located,  thirteen  men,  seven  women,  and  nine 
children,  were  baptized  on  one  Sabbath,  while 
many  more  were  admitted  to  the  catechumen's 
class.  On  another  Sabbath  Mr  Fraser  went 
with  me  to  Hora  station,  where  five  men,  one 
woman,  and  four  children  were  baptised,  and 
about  forty  admitted  as  catechumens.  But  the 
blessing  was  not  confined  to  stations  where 
Europeans    were    working,    for   at    Njuyu    and 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         299 

Elangeni,  as  at  Hora,  where  our  native  assistants 
were  located,  there  was  a  season  of  rejoicing  as  an 
abundant  harvest  was  reaped  on  two  other  Sab- 
baths. I  quote  the  account  given  by  Mr  Stuart 
who  accompanied  Mr  Fraser  to  those  places. 

"  On  a  recent  Saturday  we  left  Ekwendeni 
"and  spent  the  Sabbath  at  Elangeni.  Ten  young 
men,  who  had  been  examined  at  Ekwendeni  and 
given  satisfactory  evidence  of  their  faith,  were 
admitted.  As  it  was  the  first  service  of  the  kind 
ever  held  in  the  district,  a  great  crowd  of  people 
turned  out  to  witness  this,  to  them,  strange  cere- 
mony. The  young  son  of  their  chief  was  among 
those  baptized. 

"In  the  afternoon  we  had  a  quiet  little  gather- 
ing, when  sixteen  of  us  sat  down  at  the  Lord's 
Table.  Makara  took  part  in  this  service,  giving  a 
very  efifective  address  on  the  love  of  God  in  send- 
ing the  good  news  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Ngoni. 

"  The  following  Sunday  we  spent  at  Njuyu. 
For  a  long  time  past  a  quiet  work  of  grace  has 
been  going  on  here,  the  extent  of  it  only  now 
becoming  apparent.  We  arrived  on  Friday  after- 
noon. We  saw  as  many  as  we  could  that  night, 
and  on  Saturday  we  were  in  a  state  of  siege 
nearly  all  day.  Fifty-one  persons  altogether 
were  examined,  and  out  of  these  forty-four — 
twenty-two  men  and  twenty-two  women — were 


300  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

held  by  the  Church  as  fit  for  baptism.  Most 
of  these  have  been  for  years  connected  with  the 
Mission.  Some  of  them  received  their  first  in- 
struction in  school ;  some  are  the  wives  of 
teachers,  and  have  been  taught  by  their  hus- 
bands. One  old  widow  is  the  mother  of  a 
teacher.  Another  woman  is  the  mother  of  one 
of  the  late  Dr  Steele's  personal  boys,  a  boy 
who  is  now  being  educated  at  the  Livingstonia 
Institution.  The  father,  in  this  case,  is  still 
a  heathen.  One  young  man,  a  rescued  slave, 
was  long  ago  the  servant  of  the  late  Mr  James 
Sutherland.  Some  are  husbands  of  heathen 
wives,  and  others  wives  of  heathen  husbands, 
and  in  not  a  few  cases  both  the  husband  and 
wife  were  admitted.  Some  of  them  in  their 
answers  to  the  questions  put  to  them  showed 
a  wonderful  knowledge  of  divine  things. 
Others  again  were,  according  to  our  ideas  of 
knowledge,  very  ignorant ;  but  they  all  knew 
that  Jesus  Christ  died  to  save  them,  and  are 
trusting  in  Him  to  break  the  power  of  sin  in 
their  hearts.  Mawalera,  whom  they  all  look 
upon  as  their  spiritual  guide,  had  seen  them  all 
previously,  they  having  come  to  him  of  their 
own  accord,  and  he  was  therefore  able  to  give 
us  information  about  them.  We,  of  course, 
could  only  see  to  their  knowledge,  and  had  to 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS  301 

depend  largely  on  the  Churcli  as  to  whether  or 
not  their  lives  were  consistent  with  their  pro- 
fession. They  are  so  closely  associated  together 
in  their  village  life  that  every  native  knows  the 
kind  of  life  his  neighbour  leads,  and  one  or  two 
whom  we  thought  right,  as  far  as  knowledge 
went,  were  rejected  by  the  Church  on  account 
of  their  inconsistent  lives.  Polygamy  and  beer- 
drinking  are  the  two  great  evils.  The  former 
and  drunkenness  have  always  excluded  from 
membership,  but  total  abstinence  was  not  always 
a  sine  qua  non.  Now,  however,  the  Church  at 
Njuyu,  having  realised  the  dangers  of  example, 
has  resolved  to  eschew  the  beer  entirely.  Comino- 
thus  from  themselves,  it  is  far  better  than  if  it 
had  come  from  us.  Preformation  and  not  revolu- 
tion will  make  them  intelligent  Christians. 

"  The  Sabbath  was  a  great  day,  and  will  long 
be  remembered  in  the  history  of  the  Church  at 
Njuyu.  In  the  forenoon  we  had  the  baptismal 
service,  and  also  the  ordination  of  four  elders, 
the  first  to  be  set  apart  at  Njuyu  for  the  office 
—  Mawalera,  Makara,  and  two  others  having 
been  chosen  by  the  Church.  The  choice  shows 
the  sound  sense  of  the  members. 

"During  the  afternoon  we  observed  the  Com- 
munion, when  about  eighty  of  us  partook  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.     The  service  was  most  impres- 


302  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

sive  ;  simple,  perhaps,  there  being  an  absence  of 
fine  surroundings  and  priestly  garments,  and  the 
people,  most  of  them,  rude  and  ignorant.  The 
worshippers,  at  least,  were  devout  and  earnest. 
At  this  service  Mawalera  delivered  a  most  im- 
pressive address,  when  one  woman  could  not 
help  interjecting  a  remark  by  way  of  emphasis. 
The  brotherliness  existing  between  the ,  Church 
members  and  the  heartiness  manifested  at  all  the 
services  were  marked.  Mawelera  has  an  important 
work  before  him  in  teaching  these  converts,  but 
we  have  confidence  in  him.  '  The  Lord  hath  done 
great  things  for  us  ;  whereof  we  are  glad.'  " 

Thus  on  four  successive  Sabbaths  in  Ngoniland, 
eighty  adults  were  admitted  to  the  membership 
of  the  Church,  while  several  hundreds  on  profes- 
sion of  their  faith  were  enrolled  as  catechumens. 

Under  Mr  Fraser  and  Mr  Stuart  with  their 
native  helpers,  the  work  has  been  greatly  ex- 
tended and  blessed  since  then.  They  have 
recently 'had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  last 
of  the  doors  in  Ngoniland  opened  to  the  work 
of  the  Mission.  That  arch-enemy  of  peace, 
Ng'onomo,  has  signified  his  change  by  receiv- 
ing teachers,  and  Mperembe  too  has  not  only 
received  teachers,  but  has  become  a  liberal 
supporter  of  the  work  by  gifts  of  stock  at 
the  monthly  collections.     Owing  to  the  spread- 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         303 

ing  out  of  the  villages  and  removals  to  new 
ground,  the  number  of  the  schools  has  been 
increased,  so  that  sometimes  as  many  as  four 
thousand  scholars  are  under  instruction,  and 
now  school  fees  are  being  charged.  Ten  years 
before,  our  first  school  with  twenty-two  scholars 
was  opened.  Although  that  may  for  a  time 
diminish  the  attendance,  the  wisdom  of  the 
step  will  be  seen.  The  minimum  of  attain- 
ment with  which  we  are  satisfied  in  the  case 
of  most  of  those  attending,  is  that  they  leave 
the  school  able  to  read  the  Word  of  God  for 
themselves,  and  possessing  a  copy  of  it.  While 
thousands  of  copies  of  school  books  have  been 
bought  by  the  people,  there  is  a  widespread 
desire  to  possess  the  Scriptures.  Hundreds  of 
Zulu  Bibles,  Testaments  and  single  gospels, 
hymn-books  and  catechisms,  have  been  sold, 
amounting  to  a  large  sum.  The  people  who 
were  wont  to  steal  rather  than  work  to  acquire 
anything,  now  give  a  month's  labour  for  a 
copy  of  the  Bible,  or  a  fortnight's  for  a  copy 
of  the  New  Testament.  Men  with  the  marks 
of  old  battles  on  their  bodies,  may  be  seen 
earnestly  labouring  at  what  once  was  con- 
sidered ignoble  work,  in  order  to  own  a  copy 
of  the  precious  Word  of  God. 

The  liberality  of  the  Christians  is  remarkable. 


304  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

There  is  little  trading  with  outsiders  in  Ngoni- 
land,  and  their  means  of  acquiring  wealth,  with 
wages  at  a  penny  a  day,  are  small,  yet  the  value 
of  several  pounds  is  frequently  given  as  a  church- 
door  collection.  Besides  this  the  people  are  under- 
taking the  support  of  schools  for  their  children, 
and  altogether  it  is  seen  to  be  true  as  Mr  Fraser 
wrote  some  months  ago,  "  The  work  here  has 
entered  on  a  new  chapter."  In  another  letter 
he  says  on  this  point,  "  The  monthly  collections 
are  moving  on  apace.  Mr  Stuart  and  I  have 
turned  into  grain  and  iron  merchants,  and  our 
back-yards  are  huge  poultry  establishments. 
Mr  Stuart  takes  fowls  for  books,  and  about 
120  fowls  were  received  last  week  alone.  The 
Sunday  collections  are  a  rare  sight.  No  less 
than  150  carriers  brought  in  the  offerings  from 
the  out- stations.  My  house  and  verandah  are 
packed  with  the  produce,  and  the  baskets,  and 
the  hoes,  and  the  beads  which  the  people  gave. 
Two  bulls,  a  cow,  and  two  goats  which  were 
contributed  were  bought  up  at  once.  Every 
month  sees  a  visible  increase  in  the  liberality 
of  the  people.  Then  as  to  books.  I  fancy 
that  at  this  station  alone  quite  1000  volumes 
have  been  sold  in  the  last  eight  months." 

At  the  Communion  Service  held  at  Ekwendeni 
in  May  1898,  to  which  the  following  accounts 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS 


305 


refer,  the  offering  of  the  people  for  the  service  of 
God  was  as  follows  : — 

Money,  £1,  8s.  Ofd.  2  Goats. 

11  Knives.  105  lbs.  Beans. 

14  earthenware  pots.  97  lbs.  Flour. 

16  Baskets.  233  lbs.  Maize. 

1  Mat.  34  lbs.  Potatoes. 
67  Fowls.  62  lbs.  Pumpkins. 

2  Sheep.  3  lbs.  6  oz.  Beads. 
The    total    value,    not    including    European 

contributions,  was  £3,  3s.   5|d. 

An  intelligent  young  man  of  the  tribe  of 
Tonga,  describing  the  services  to  a  companion, 
said  he  stood  at  Ekwendeni  and  saw  band  after 
band  coming  over  the  distant  ridges,  and  steadily 
marching  towards  the  Mission  station,  where  they 
were  gladly  received  by  the  Christians,  and  taken 
away  to  the  villages  to  be  entertained.  The  vil- 
lages were  crowded  with  guests,  men  in  some, 
women  in  others,  and  there  seemed  room  for 
no  more.  Still,  however,  other  bands  appeared 
on  the  horizon,  and  as  they  arrived,  the  warmth 
of  Christian  feeling  made  elastic  the  possibilities 
of  hospitality.  "  As  I  saw  this,"  he  said,  "  I 
marvelled."  "  Then  the  services,  where,  with 
an  elder  or  other  leading  Christian,  small  com- 
panies gathered  by  themselves  for  prayer,  and 
many  were  melted  to  tears — as  I  saw  these   I 

u 


3o6  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

greatly  marvelled."  '*  Then  at  the  baptismal 
service,  as  I  saw  those  who  were  to  be  baptised 
coming  forward  one  by  one,  and  receiving  the 
rite  until  Mr  Fraser's  arm  grew  tired,  and  he 
sat  down,  and  Mr  Henderson  continued  in  his 
place ;  as  I  saw  men  with  scars  of  spears  and 
clubs  and  bullets  on  them ;  and  as  I  saw 
Impangela,  the  widow  of  Chipatula,  baptized, 
I  marvelled  exceedingly.  I  said  in  my  heart, 
'  Can  these  be  the  Ngoni  submitting  to  God, 
the  Ngoni  who  used  to  murder  us,  the  Ngoni 
who  killed  the  Henga,  the  Bisa,  and  other 
tribes  ? '  And  then  at  the  Lord's  Table,  to  see 
these  people  sitting  there  in  the  still  quiet  of 
God's  presence,  my  heart  was  full  of  wonder  at 
the  great  things  God  had  done." 

The  Kev.  James  Henderson,  of  the  Training 
Institution,  has,  on  request,  furnished  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  Communion  Season  at 
Ekwendeni : — 

"  I  was  travelling  up  the  Lake  shore  on  my 
way  back  to  Livingstonia  after  conducting  the 
Sacramental  Services  at  Bandawe,  when  I  got  a 
letter  from  Mr  Donald  Fraser,  asking  me  to  turn 
aside  and  go  up  to  Ekwendeni  to  assist  him  with 
the  Sacraments  there.  I  had  left  Livingstonia 
for  the  work  at  Bandawe  on  the  day  when  the 
schools  were  closed,  and  now  there  was  little  more 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         307 

than  a  fortnight  remaining  of  the  vacation,  and 
the  work  for  the  new  session  was  all  to  be  pre- 
pared. With  the  heat  and  the  rain,  the  fever, 
the  trudging  through  the  loose  sand,  the  constant 
moving  from  place  to  place,  and  especially  after 
the  excitement  and  strain  of  the  last  great  week 
at  Bandawe,  I  was  as  tired  as  could  be,  and  my 
inclination  was  to  pass  on  and  choose  the  first 
deserted  bay  for  a  camp,  where,  for  a  few  days, 
I  might  cease  to  be  a  missionary  or  any  other 
sort  of  thinking  animal.  But  Saturday  afternoon 
found  us  striking  inland  across  the  mountains 
for  Ekwendeni,  and  spending  Sunday  among  the 
Tumbuka  people  on  the  uplands.  I  reached  the 
station  on  Monday  evening.  I  can  never  be  too 
thankful  that  I  did  not  miss  seeing,  and  that  I 
was  privileged  to  take  some  small  part  in,  this 
remarkable  sacramental  gathering. 

"  The  meetings  were  to  begin  in  the  week  after 
I  arrived.  Mr  Fraser  had  decided  to  have  things 
very  much  on  the  general  lines  they  used  to  fol- 
low at  a  Communion  Season  in  the  Scottish 
Highlands.  The  examination  of  catechumens 
seeking  to  go  forward  to  baptism  was  finished, 
and  it  was  known  how  unprecedentedly  large 
was  the  number  to  be  admitted.  It  was  felt  on 
all  hands  that  this  would  be  a  great  opportunity 
for  reaching  the  hearts  of  those  that  had  hitherto 


3o8  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

held  aloof.  For  some  time  the  native  Christians 
had  been  assembling  daily  for  prayer,  and  now 
they  were  looking  forward  to  a  time  of  great 
spiritual  awakening  and  quickening.  The  mis- 
sionaries were  expecting  more  than  that.  It 
would  be  a  gathering  of  the  whole  Christian 
Church  of  the  tribe,  and  the  missionaries  trusted 
that  the  Church  as  a  body  might  be  led  to  make 
a  further  forward  step  in  spiritual  experience. 
They  looked  away  to  the  untouched  regions 
beyond,  and  they  were  praying  for  an  outpour- 
ing of  the  Spirit  that  there  might  be  fuller 
consecration  to  the  Lord,  and  new  devotion 
and  enthusiasm  for  His  service. 

*'  Of  course  there  was  no  building  at  all 
adequate  for  the  expected  congregations.  A 
temporarary  open-air  church  had  to  be  set  up. 
That  is  not  difficult  in  Africa.  Posts,  split 
branches,  and  the  strong,  tall  grass,  provided  a 
screened  enclosure — protection  from  the  wind  is 
what  is  required — and  some  bricks  and  a  few 
planks  make  all  that  is  needed  for  a  platform. 
Seats  can  be  dispensed  with  on  such  occasions. 
They  are  ornamental  rather  than  necessary. 

"  On  Monday  the  people  began  to  assemble. 
The  first  -  comers  were  from  Mperembe's,  the 
raiding  chief  who  had  only  very  lately  received 
teachers.      They  had  brought  a  contribution  in 


RE-ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         309 

the  shape  of  a  sheep  and  a  goat  from  the  chief 
himself,  and  their  appearance  was  a  picture  of 
Mperembe's  attitude  to  the  Mission.  They  were 
evidently  intended  to  make  up  by  numbers  what 
they  lacked  in  age  and  status,  and  were  altogether 
a  non-committal  deputation,  raw  and  rustic,  and 
a  good  deal  '  out  of  it '  when  the  other  peoples 
gathered.  By  Tuesday  evening  the  footpaths 
were  full.  Whole  families  were  coming,  the 
mothers  and  daughters  carrying  cooking-pots 
on  their  heads  and  bags  of  flour,  the  men  with 
strings  of  maize  cobs  on  their  shoulders  and  other 
produce  of  their  gardens  for  the  '  collection,' 
and  often  a  tired  child  on  their  backs.  Most  of 
them  were  dressed  in  snowy  white  calico.  They 
travelled  silently ;  and  the  people  in  the  heathen 
villages  by  the  way  climbed  up  the  ant-hills  to 
look  at  them,  and  called,  so  they  told  us,  '  What 
has  happened  \  What  impi  is  after  you  ? '  Past 
the  old  houses  of  the  first  Ekwendeni  station, 
across  the  rising  ground,  we  could  see  them  com- 
ing in  a  long  straggling  Indian  file,  which  changed 
into  solid  masses  as  they  crossed  the  river  and 
came  up  the  Mission  road.  It  was  then  that  I 
realised  the  nature  of  the  work  that  was  being 
done  among  the  tribe.  The  swinging  pace  could 
not  be  mistaken,  even  before  the  individuals  could 
be  seen.     It  was  the  fighting  men,  the  men  in 


3IO  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONl 

the  prime  of  their  strength  that  the  Gospel  had 
laid  hold  of.  A  fitter-looking  set  of  men  and 
women  it  would  be  hard  to  find  anywhere.  What 
a  promise  they  are  of  the  speedy  coming  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ  in  that  land.  All  Wednesday 
forenoon  they  streamed  in,  people  that  had  come 
from  far,  and  slept  one  or  two  nights  on  the  way. 

"  The  enclosure  was  intended  to  hold  somewhat 
over  a  thousand,  but  it  was  soon  evident  that  an 
extension  of  it  had  to  be  made.  The  '  hospitality 
committee,'  the  directors  of  which  were  the  two 
local  chiefs,  Yohane  and  Amon,  had  their  re- 
sources taxed  to  the  utmost.  Every  hut  in  the 
neighbouring  villages  was  taken  over  by  them, 
and  when  these  were  filled  they  made  use  of  the 
cattle  kraals.  There  was  no  trouble  made  about  it. 
I  heard  that  when  Yohane  was  asked  first  how 
many  people  he  could  accommodate,  he  thought 
he  might  manage  with  a  hundred,  but  when  the 
need  arose  he  himself  arranged  for  over  a  thousand. 

•'  On  Wednesday  at  mid-day  the  first  meeting 
was  held.  Well  on  to  3000  people  were  present. 
They  had  taken  their  places  many  of  them  long 
before  the  hour,  and  when  we  went  down  they 
were  singing  a  hymn.  Exuberance  of  spirits  is 
the  characteristic  of  this  Church,  and  the  singing 
is  something  always  to  be  remembered,  but  the 
meeting  had  not  gone  far  on  before  it  became 


RE-ARRJNGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         311 

clear  that  it  was  not  the  familiar  mood  of  the 
people  that  had  to  be  dealt  with.  They  were  so 
bent  on  hearing  that  they  altogether  forgot  their 
correct  listening  manners,  somewhat  ostentatious 
in  attention,  and  sat  up,  looking  straight  at  the 
speaker.  They  had  evidently  made  up  their 
minds  that  they  were  to  learn  something.  The 
solemnity  of  the  consciousness  of  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  seemed  to  creep  over  the  whole 
assembly.  I  confess  that  as  I  sat  and  listened, 
while  Mr  Fraser  and  Mr  Stuart  addressed  the 
people,  touching  them  and  swaying  them  with 
their  words,  something  like  fear  came  over  me, 
and  I  doubted  whereunto  this  would  grow. 
Would  excitement  seize  the  people,  and  could 
it  be  controlled  ?  That  day  I  prayed  far  more 
that  no  evil  might  befall  the  gathering  than  that 
good  might  come.  But  my  fear  was  foolish. 
The  thing  was  of  the  Lord.  It  was  in  His  hands. 
''  Most  of  the  addresses  were  intended  for  the 
believers,  and  dealt  much  with  heart-sinfulness. 
The  touch-stone  of  self-examination  proposed  was 
conscious  daily  communion  with  the  living  Christ. 
The  addresses  were  pointedly  practical,  calling 
for  definite  acts  of  self-surrender  to  the  Lord. 
Men  and  women  were  entreated  to  deal  with 
their  Saviour  about  the  things  which  they  found 
standing  between  Him  and  them.     The  person 


312  AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  brought 
prominently  forward. 

"  The  opening  day,  as  might  be  expected,  was 
one  of  perplexity.  The  Christians  had  thought, 
perhaps,  that  the  meetings  were  intended  almost 
wholly  for  those  outside,  and  they  found  that  it 
was  themselves  that  were  addressed.  Their  self- 
examination  brought  with  it  sorrow  and  humilia- 
tion. The  meetings  after  that  took  a  new  tone. 
There  was  more  stillness  and  less  self-certainty. 
The  Christians  were  seeking  God  again,  and 
striving  with  the  chains  of  self  and  the  world. 

"  One  night  the  teachers  asked  Mr  Fraser  and 
myself  to  meet  with  them  in  the  house  where 
they  were  staying  to  explain  to  them  difficulties, 
mostly  with  reference  to  the  work  of  the  Spirit, 
which  were  troubling  them.  Mr  Fraser  had  been 
with  them  alone  the  previous  night.  We  sat 
on  the  ground  along  the  walls,  dim  fires  burn- 
ing on  the  floor  down  the  middle  of  the  long 
building.  There  was  no  formal  teaching  or 
speaking.  In  the  semi-darkness  the  men  talked 
with  the  utmost  frankness  ;  and  there  was  a 
time  of  confession  and  prayer.  Several  of  the 
older  men  gave  signs  of  having  been  brought 
very  near  to  God.  Coming  outside  we  found 
the  air  full  of  hymns.  A  tropical  moon  was 
full  in  the  sky,  and  in  the  villages  all  around 
the  people  were  met  out  of  doors  singing,  and  as 


RE-JRRJNGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         3 1 3 

the  soft  breeze  rose  and  fell  the  words  were  borne 
to  our  ears.  The  Evening  Prayers  were  long  over ; 
but  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  too  full  for  rest. 
"  In  the  middle  of  Friday  night  an  incident 
occurred  which  might  have  been  attended  with 
evil  consequences  among  a  people  naturally 
superstitious.  A  little  child,  brought  by  its 
parents  to  be  baptised,  they  themselves  also 
being  at  the  same  time  admitted  into  the 
Church,  was  taken  ill ;  the  journey  had  been 
too  much  for  it.  They  came  with  it  to  us  for 
treatment,  when  it  was  far  too  late,  and  as  we 
were  looking  at  it,  it  died.  It  was  a  heavy 
trial  to  them.  I  think  it  was  their  only  child. 
They  were  away  from  home  and  none  of  the 
usual  customs  of  honouring  the  dead  could  be 
observed.  But  they  took  the  situation  bravely. 
They  made  no  noisy  lamentation.  All  night 
they  sat  alone  beside  the  little  body  in  one  of 
the  Mission  rooms,  and,  when  the  morning 
Prayer  Meeting  was  over,  with  a  company  of 
friends  they  carried  it  forth  to  burial.  It  was 
laid  in  the  little  plot  where  the  remains  of 
Dr  Steele  lie  at  rest.  And  the  great  congre- 
gation looked  down  the  slope,  and  many  of 
them  wondered  for  they  were  seeing  a  Christian 
burial  for  the  first  time.  We  were  singing  a 
hymn.  There  was  no  wild  weeping  and  wail- 
ing.      And   from    the   side   of  the   grave    were 


3H 


AMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 


borne  to  them  the  triumphant  words  in  which 
the  Christian  proclaims  his  faith  in  the  resur- 
rection, '  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
0  death  where  is  thy  sting?  0  grave  where 
is  thy  victory?  .  .  .  Thanks  be  to  God  which 
giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.'  God  made  death  even  to  work  for  our 
good.  It  was  a  lesson  without  which  the  other 
teaching  would  have  hardly  been  complete. 

"The  second  service  of  Saturday  was  the 
meeting  in  which  most  interest  centred.  The 
congregation,  which  had  been  growing  larger 
every  day,  was  now  almost  at  its  greatest. 
Every  corner  of  the  enclosure  was  filled.  In 
the  centre  sat  the  men  and  women  to  be  bap- 
tised. The  native  elders  arranged  them  accord- 
ing to  their  districts.  They  were  in  all  195 
adults.  Again  I  was  struck  with  their  appear- 
ance. They  were  the  pick  of  the  people  in  the 
prime  of  life.  Such  a  sight  was  never  before 
seen  among  us,  and  rarely  in  the  whole  history 
of  the  spread  of  our  Faith.  Oftener  than  once 
the  head  that  was  bowed  before  us,  as  they 
came  forward  to  receive  the  rite,  was  scarred 
with  an  old  wound ;  for  several  of  those  bap- 
tised had  taken  part  in  the  very  last  raid  of 
this  section  of  their  tribe.  It  was  a  wonderful 
day  of  ingathering  that  we  were  privileged  to 
see,  and  we  were  but  lately  come  into  the  field. 


RE-ARRJNGEMENT  OF  STATIONS         315 

Some  of  the  early  sowers  could  only  hear  tell 
of  it,  and  others — Koyi,  Sutherland  and  Steele 
— were  with  their  God.  The  day  was  of  the 
Lord.  We  were  as  onlookers  upon  His  doings. 
It  was  natural  that  He  should  do  great  things. 
"The  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
held  upon  the  Sabbath  forenoon,  when  the  congre- 
gation amounted  to  nearly  4000.  The  enclosure 
was  packed  to  its  utmost  capacity.  On  a  large 
ant-hill  outside  a  crowd  of  curious  sight-seers 
assembled,  grey-bearded  old  men,  Zulu  nclunas 
with  the  ring  of  hair  crowns,  and  skin  -  clad 
heathen  from  the  remoter  villages,  and  around 
the  fence  stood  hundreds  of  miserable  -  lookinof 
Tumbuka  women,  craning  red-ochred  heads  over 
the  grass  to  watch  the  proceedings.  The  addresses 
were  calls  to  action.  If  the  Lord  had  done  any- 
thing for  His  people  in  the  course  of  the  meetings 
they  were  now  to  let  it  appear  in  the  vows  which 
they  renewed  before  Him.  Seated  in  rows  in 
front  and  on  each  side  of  the  platform  the  Church 
members  formed  a  large  body,  but  the  greater  mass 
of  the  people  was  still  beyond  the  separating 
space.  What  was  true  of  this  assembly  was 
true,  on  a  greater  scale  of  disproportion,  of  the 
land.  The  Gospel  had  as  yet  come  only  to  the 
few,  and  the  few  must  bear  it  to  the  many.  The 
King  was  present  at  His  feast,  and  He  was  enter- 
ing into  the  full  possession  of  many  subjects.    In 


3i6  JMONG  THE  WILD  NGONI 

His  presence  anxiety  was  giving  way  to  peace. 
In  His  keeping  the  future  could  be  faced  with 
joy.  Never  was  such  a  collection  taken  in  the 
land  before,  A  heap  of  Indian  corn  nearly  breast 
high  all  but  blocked  the  side  entrances.  They 
had  given  of  all  kinds  of  their  possessions, 
money,  beads,  rings,  bracelets,  knives,  hoes,  axes, 
pots,  baskets,  mats,  pumpkins,  millet,  beans, 
potatoes,  fowls,  sheep,  goats,  and  cattle. 

"  In  the  afternoon  the  children  were  brought  for 
baptism,  89  in  all,  thus  making  a  total  of  284 
souls  received  at  the  one  time  into  the  Church. 

"  The  feast  was  now  over ;  the  time  for  work 
had  come.  At  dawn  the  next  morning  we  met 
for  the  last  time  to  give  thanks.  By  mid-day 
we  were  scattered  along  every  outward  path, 
and  some  knew  that  they  were  not,  and  might 
never  more,  be  alone,  for  they  had  learned  to 
walk  in  conscious  fellowship  with  the  Comforter, 
the  Holy  Spirit." 

"It  is  the  Lord's  doing  and  is  wondrous  in 
our  eyes. 

'*  Amen  :  Blessing,  and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and 
thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and  power,  and  might, 
be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen." 


INDEX 


Adultery,  115. 

Africa  and  the  Africans,  288. 

Agriculture,  41,  211. 

Aitken,  J.  &  G.,  260. 

Albert  Namalambe,  102, 196. 

Amadhlozi,  68. 

Amaduna,  120. 

Amadum,  68. 

Amatetwa,  14. 

Ammoma,  229. 

Amon  Jere,  298. 

Ancestor  worship,  162. 

AnthUls,  32. 

Anthropological  Institute,  215. 

Augustine,  134. 

Bandawe,  80,  98,  193,  211,  245. 

Bangweolo  Lake,  79. 

Bantu  Tribes,  70. 

Baptismal  Service,  306. 

Basel  Mission,  19. 

Bechuanas,  21. 

Bede,  124. 

Beer,  41,  110,  144,  301. 

Begging  by  Natives,  138,  217. 

Bible,  The,  119,  176,  225,  303. 

Bisa,  78. 

Books  sold,  304. 

British  Central  Africa,  16,  290. 

Government,  106. 

Buchanan  Institution,  254. 
Burial  of  a  Chief,  269. 

of  a  Missionary,  280. 

of  a  Child,  313. 

Burton,  R.,  104. 

Cassava,  84. 

Cattle.  49. 

Cave-dwellers,  85. 

Chaka,  14,  19. 

Chameleon,  70, 

Chewa,  78. 

Chibisa,  291. 

Chikoko,  99. 

Children,  150,  200,  313. 

Chinde,  Mombera's  son,  53. 

Chinombos,  53. 

Chintechi,  101. 

Chinyera,  174,  251. 

Chipatula,  91,  142. 

Chirombo,  226. 

Chisevi,  93,  141. 

Chitezi,  160. 

Chiuta,  68. 

Chiwere,  28. 

Church  of  the  Ngoni,  307. 

Coffee,  295. 

Communion  service,  301,  304,  306. 

Consecration,  220,  311. 

Contracts  for  work,  230. 


Converts,  the  first,  163. 

Crowning  warriors,  197. 

Dancing,  45, 195. 

Dead,  the,  71. 

Dewar,  A.,  278,  288. 

Dingiswayo,  14,  29. 

Edinburgh  University,  210. 

Ekwendeni,  132,  261,  293. 

Elangeni,  286,  293. 

Elmslie,  Mrs,  231,  273,  279. 

Ethelbert,  124. 

Famine,  168. 

Farewell,  missionary,  30. 

Fever,  167,  212. 

Fipa,  25. 

Florence  Bay,  86. 

Eraser,  Donald,  52,  298. 

Free  Church  of  Scotland,  77. 

Fuka,  103. 

Fynn,  missionary,  30. 

Gazaland,  20. 

Glasgow  University,  254. 

Medical  Mission,  258. 

Free  St  James's  Church,  259. 

Gungunhana,  20. 
Gwangwara,  28. 
Hades,  73,  226. 
Harrison,  F.,  75. 
Harvest,  178, 185. 
Health  of  Africans,  45. 
Henderson,  James,  284,  306. 
Henga,  78. 
Henry,  Dr,  268. 
Highlands,  Scottish,  228. 
Hoho,  148. 

Holiness  to  the  Lord,  215. 
Hora,  52,  93,  275. 
Horses,  159. 
Impangela,  306. 
Indabas,  37. 

Industrial  work,  214,  230. 
Injomane,  141, 145. 
Insects,  38. 

Worship,  73. 

Isaacs,  missionary,  30. 

Itshanusi,  60. 

Johnston,  Sir  H.,  294. 

Kafir  Bible,  95. 

Kaning'ina,  Mount,  91. 

Karanga  tribe,  19. 

Karonga  port,  82, 192. 

Kasungu,  290. 

Kayune,  82. 

Kotakota,  28. 

Koyi,  WilUam,  91,  102,  112,  180,  188. 

Kraals,  120,  165. 

Kwakwa  river,  260. 

Laws,  Dr,  77, 83,92,118,192,211,235,242. 

3»7 


3i8 


INDEX 


Laws,  Mrs,  199. 

Liberality  of  converts,  304,  309. 

Lions,  74. 

Livingstone,  David,  79,  233,  256. 

Livingstonia  Mission,  76, 103, 135. 

Training  Institution,  86,  280. 

Livlezi,  268. 

Loangvea,  23. 

Lobengula,  22. 

Lovedale,  188. 

Lowawa,  18. 

MacAlpine,  a.  G.,  278. 

Mackay,  A.  M.,  138. 

Maclear,  Cape,  76. 

Macphail,  Dr,  257. 

M'Callum,P.,MrandMrs,158,266,279. 

M'lntyre,  missionary,  232. 

Makara,  252,  301. 

Makololo,  105. 

Manchewe,  86. 

Mandala,  156. 

Mang'anja,  106. 

Mankambera,  101. 

Marenga,  84. 

Marriage,  186,  265. 

Matabele,  13,  22. 

Matshulu,  24. 

Maviti,  25. 

Mawalera,  first  convert,  155, 160, 252, 

301. 
Mbaiekelwa,  296. 
Medical  Mission  Work,  61,  83,  127, 

150,  184,  234,  240,  248. 
Men  in  Central  Africa,  48. 
Meteorology,  169. 
Mfumu,  201. 

Missionary's  three  gifts,  137. 
Mission  houses,  36,  214. 
Missions,  Christian,  28, 147,  301. 

Critics  of,  69,  222. 

Life,  164, 186,  219, 247, 250, 264, 277, 

306. 
Moffat,  Dr,  11,  94. 
Moir,  John,  89, 1.33,  185. 
Mombera,  19,  27,  93,  108,  269. 
Moody  the  Evangelist,  210,  255. 
Mperembe,  28,  296. 
Mpereni,  28,  292. 
Mponda,  106. 
Mtwaro,  27,  247,  297. 
Muave,  62. 
Murray,  W.,  278. 
Mwenzo,  287. 
Natal,  13. 
Nature-peoples,  118. 
Nawambi,  198,  287. 
Ngoni,  13,  23,  26,  79,  82,  196,  212,  238, 

295. 

Village  Life,  33. 

Religious  beliefs,  35. 

First  convert  woman,  273. 

Ngoniland,  31,  77, 107. 

for  Christ,  103,  316. 

Ng'onomo,  121,  249,  302, 
Njuyu,  140,  164,  213,  262, 


Nkonde,  79. 

Noluju,  16. 

Nqaba,  19. 

Nyamwanga,  78,  288. 

Nyasa  Lake,  31,  76. 

Nyika,  78,  86. 

Obscene  customs,  57. 

Obstetrics,  266. 

Ordeals,  62, 117,  200. 

Photography,  71. 

Poison  ordeal,  62. 

Polygamy,  42,  57,  114. 

Port  Elizabeth,  188. 

Portuguese,  13,  29,  260. 

Positivists,  75. 

Prayer,  126, 164. 

Preaching,  69,  74,  311. 

Prentice,  Dr,  89. 

Presents,  130, 138. 

QUILIMANE,  104,  260. 

Rain,  168, 173, 177. 

ReUgioua  Nature,  66. 

Robarti,  197. 

RoUo,  George,  156. 

Royal  Geographical  Society,  77. 

Rukuru,  25. 

Sacrifices  73 

Schools,  186!  207,  229,  277,  297,  303. 

Scottish  Colleges,  256. 

Highlands,  307. 

Scott,  G.,  269. 

Senga,  22. 

Senzangakona,  13. 

Sewing  Machine,  116. 

Shire  Highlands,  295. 

Singing  of  Natives,  310. 

Slavery,  92,  175. 

Snake-worship,  71. 

Songs,  46,  311. 

Soudan,  13. 

Spirit-worship,  67,  70. 

Stanley,  H.,  25. 

Stealing,  143. 

Steele,  George,  253. 

Stewart,  James  C.  E.,  25,  77, 123, 192. 

Rev.  Dr  J.,  77,  191. 

Miss,  279,  284. 

Stuart,  Charles,  252,  299. 

Student  Volunteers,  258,  298. 

Sutherland,  Jas.,  108, 112, 156, 209, 220. 

Swann,  Mr,  291. 

Swazi,  19,  91. 

Tampan  Insect,  38. 

Tanganyika,  25,  91, 19. 

Tette,  20. 

Thomson,  Joseph,  260. 

Tongaland,  19,  56,  78. 

Tonga  people,  124,  238. 

Traditions,  171. 

Tugela,  13. 

Tumbuka,  23,  52,  78,  202,  282. 

Uganda,  138. 

Uitenhage,  188. 

Ujiji,  26. 

Umkurumqango,  68, 199. 


INDEX 


319 


Umtusani,  197. 
Umzila,  20. 
Umziligazi,  20,  94. 
Victoria  Nyanza,  27. 
ViUage,  African,  33,  80. 
Waller,  Mount,  86. 
Wanda,  78. 
War-dances,  195-198. 
Wars  of  the  Tribes,  79. 
Weniba,  91. 

Witchcraft,  59,  153,  160,  223. 
Williams,  George,  154,  253. 


Wiwa,  78. 

Woman,  40,  42,  64,  273,  284. 
Yao,  106. 
Yohane  Jere,  298. 
Zambezi,  29. 
Zimmerman,  215. 
Ziugwa,  78. 

Zongandaba,  16,  24,  118. 
Zulu  tribe,  13,  117. 

Bible,  303. 

Zumbo,  20. 
Zwide,  16. 


THE    LIVINGSTONIA    MISSION. 


MISSIONARIES  FROM  SCOTLAND. 

^There  are  300  Native.  Christian  Teachers  and  Students.) 


LIVINGSTONIA  TRAINING 
INSTITUTION. 

Rev.   Robert  Laws,   D.D,,   M.D. 

(Aber.),  F.R.G.S.,  and  Mrs  Laws. 
Rev.  James  Henderson,  M.  A.(Ed.) 
Miss  L.  A.  Stewart,  Teacher. 
Miss  M.  Jackson,  Nurse. 
Miss  M.    M'Callum,    Nurse    and 

Teacher. 
Mr  W.  Murray,  Carpenter. 
Mr  W.  Thomson,  Printer,  and  Mrs 

Thomson. 
Mr  W.  D.  MacGregor,  Carpenter, 

and  Mrs  MacGregor. 
Mr  M.  Moffat,  Agriculturist. 
Mr  W.   J,    Henderson,    Artisan 

Evangelist. 

KARONGA. 

Mr  Robert   Scott,  M.B.,  Ch.M. 

(Glas.) 
Dr  J.  M.  Henderson,  Teacher. 


NGONILAND— EKWENDENI. 

DrW.A.ELMSLiE,M.B.,C.M.(Aber.), 

F.R.G.S.,  and  Mrs  Elmslik. 
Rev.  Donald  Eraser. 
Mr  Chas.  Stuart,  Teacher. 


BANDAWE. 

Rev.  A.  G.  MacAlpine,  and  Mrs 

MacAlpine. 
Dr  Geo.  Prentice,  L.R.C.P.  &  S. 

(Edin.) 
Mr  R.  D.  MacMinn,  Teacher, 


MWENZO. 

Rev.  Alex.  Dewar,  F.R.G.S.,  and 

Mrs  Dewar. 
Mr    Peter    McCallum,    Artisan 

Evangelist,  and  Mrs  McCallum. 


320 


THE  LIVINGSTONIA  MISSION 


COMMITTEE.     (Meeting  in  Glasgow.) 

FYom  Foreign  Missions  Committee. 

Right  Hon.  LORD  OVERTOUN.  7  W.  George  St..  Glasgow.  Convener 

ROBERT  M'CLURE.  Esq.,  145  St  Vincent  Street,  Gl^s^o^  SeZj^. 


Rev,  Alex.  Alexander,  M.A., 
Dundee. 

Mr  W.  L,  Brown,  B.L.,  Glasgow. 

Colonel  T.  Cadell,  V.C.Edinburgh. 

Sir  John  Cowan,  Bart.,  Beeslack. 

Rev.  J.  Fairley  Daly,  B.D.,  Glas- 
gow. 

Mr  Walter  Duncan,  Glasgow. 
Mr   W.    Ferguson,    LL.D.,   Kin- 
mundy. 

Rev.  R.  FoRGAN,  B.D.,  Rothesay. 
Sir  William  Henderson,  LL.D., 
Aberdeen. 

Rev.  T.  B.  KiLPATRiCK,  B.D., 
Aberdeen. 

Rev.  Prof.  Lindsay,  D.D.,  F.R.S.E., 
Glasgow. 


Dr  Loudon,  Hamilton. 
Mr  D.  Maclean,  Glasgow. 
Rev.  Alex.  Miller,  B.D.,  Buckie. 
Dr  John  Moir,  Edinburgh. 
Rev.     Prof.     Robertson,     D.D. 
Aberdeen.  ' 

Mr  Joseph  C.Robertson,  Glasgow. 

Mr  Joseph  Russell,  Port-Glasgow. 

Rev.     R.     J.     Sandeman,     D.D. 

Edinburgh.  ' 

Dr  George  Smith,  C.LE.,F.R,G.s 
Edinburgh.  '    '  '' 

Rev.  A.  SouTAR,  M.A.,  Thurso. 
Rev.  J.  Stalker,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 
Mr  John  Stephen,  Glasgow. 
Ordained  Missionaries  on  furlough. 


From 
Mr  Gilbert  Beith,  Glasgow. 
Mr  Thomas  Binnie,  Glasgow. 
Mr  Robert  Brodie,  Glasgow. 
Mr  Hugh  Brown,  Glasgow. 
Rev.  James  BROWN,M.A.,Glasgow. 
Mr  James  Campbell,  Tullichewan. 
Rev.     Joseph     Corbett,     D.D., 
Glasgow. 

Mr  Hugh  Davidson,  Lanark. 
Rev.  R.  Hill,  M.A.,  Renfrew. 
Rev.  R.  Howie,  M.A.,  Govan. 
Mr  Charles  C.  Duncan,  Dundee. 
Mr  Andrew  Hutcheson,  Perth. 
Mr  T.  R.  Johnstone,  Glasgow. 
Mr  Robert  M'Clure,  Secretary, 
Glasgow. 


MacEwen,     D.D., 
Bridge-of- 


Glasgow, 

Rev.     A.     R. 

Glasgow. 

Rev.    James   Miller, 
Allan. 

Mr  Stodart  J.   Mitchell,  Aber- 
deen. 

Mr  Fred.  L.  M.  Moir,  Glasgow. 

Rev.  G.  Reith,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 

Mr    A.    Ellison     Ross,    S.S.C, 

Treasurer,  Edinburgh. 
Mr  A.  SoMERviLLE,  B.Sc,  F.L.S., 

Glasgow. 

Mr  James  Stevenson,  F.R.G.S., 
Largs. 

Mr  James  Thin,  Edinburgh. 
Rev.  James  Wells,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 


General  Treasurer. 

ALEXANDER  ELLISON  ROSS,   Esq., 

Free  Church  Offices,  Edinburgh. 


BW9640.E48 

Among  the  wild  Ngoni;  being  some 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00039  6160 


